Massachusetts Senate approved bill intended to strengthen health care system

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Senate approved a bill Thursday aimed in part at addressing some of the issues raised after Steward Health Care said it plans to sell off all its hospitals after announcing in May that it filed for bankruptcy protection.

Democratic Sen. Cindy Friedman, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, said the bill is meant to address the state’s struggling health care system, which she said is putting patients and providers at risk.

“Most concerning of all is that we have lost the patient and their needs as the primary focus of the health care system,” she said. “The recent events concerning Steward Health system have exacerbated a preexisting crisis across all aspects of the system. They may not have been the cause, but they certainly are the poster child.”

Friedman said the bill significantly updates and strengthens the state’s tools to safeguard the health care system by focusing on the major players in the health care market — including providers, insurers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and for-profit investment firms — to ensure that patient needs come first.

The bill would expand the authority of state agencies charged with measuring and containing health care costs and strengthen the health care market review process with the goal of stabilizing the system.

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