Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill into law on Jan. 8 aimed at improving transparency in the healthcare industry following bankrupt Dallas-based Steward Health Care's exit from the state.
The law aims to strengthen the healthcare market review process by closing regulatory gaps that the governor said were "exploited" by organizations like Steward, which sought Chapter 11 protection May 6, according to a Jan. 8 news release shared with Becker's.
Steward closed three Massachusetts in 2024: Dorchester-based Carney Hospital, Brockton-based Good Samaritan Medical Center and Norwood Hospital, which was nonoperational but had four satellite facilities.
The law expands the data collection by the state's Center for Health Analysis and Information and Health Policy Commission to ensure greater accountability for providers backed by private equity. It also prohibits hospital licenses from being issued to facilities on real estate investment trust-owned property and introduces tighter transparency requirements for healthcare transactions and ownership.
Lastly, the law creates a primary care task force that is co-chaired by Kate Walsh, secretary of health and human services and executive director of the health policy commission. The task force will study primary care delivery, access and payment, aiming to enhance patient access to critical services, increase recruitment and stabilize the system.
"[The law] close[s] loopholes in our regulatory processes so that for-profit providers like Steward Health Care are subject to the same transparency rules as non-profit providers. As attorney general, I spent years in court trying to hold Steward to this standard, and I'm glad that our laws will no longer be exploited in this way," Ms. Healey said in the release.
Ms. Healey also signed a law on Jan. 8 that caps copayments at $25 for 30-day supplies of certain medications for heart conditions, asthma and diabetes. It cuts cost-sharing for one generic drug and ensures no co-pay is charged if a medication is less expensive without insurance. Insurers are also required to honor existing prescriptions if members switch plans to ease patient burden when navigating new coverage.