Former Democratic presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis writes in a recent Boston Globe editorial that accountable care organizations are not the solution to controlling healthcare costs.
"Expecting ACOs and global payments to get health costs under control is a pipe dream," Mr. Dukakis writes. "We have already tried them once, except back then we called them HMOs and capitation. They didn't work then, and they won't work now."
Mr. Dukakis instead points to a reform to curb the cost of workers' compensation in Massachusetts, put in place by former Go. Bill Weld, a Republican. Mr. Weld froze workers' compensation rates in 1991; since then, they have fallen by 67 percent cumulatively in Massachusetts. Since workers' compensation is tightly regulated by the state insurance division, Mr. Weld was able to incorporate a freeze with little trouble.
Mr. Dukakis argues for standardizing billing codes and insurance policies in Massachusetts and creating a "central clearinghouse to which doctors and hospitals could send their bills once a month and get paid." He suggests the state set a goal of reducing health costs by at least 10 percent over the next three years.
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"Expecting ACOs and global payments to get health costs under control is a pipe dream," Mr. Dukakis writes. "We have already tried them once, except back then we called them HMOs and capitation. They didn't work then, and they won't work now."
Mr. Dukakis instead points to a reform to curb the cost of workers' compensation in Massachusetts, put in place by former Go. Bill Weld, a Republican. Mr. Weld froze workers' compensation rates in 1991; since then, they have fallen by 67 percent cumulatively in Massachusetts. Since workers' compensation is tightly regulated by the state insurance division, Mr. Weld was able to incorporate a freeze with little trouble.
Mr. Dukakis argues for standardizing billing codes and insurance policies in Massachusetts and creating a "central clearinghouse to which doctors and hospitals could send their bills once a month and get paid." He suggests the state set a goal of reducing health costs by at least 10 percent over the next three years.
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