title: A consumer-driven healthcare cost control agenda: Health Care for All Inc, and community catalyst.
abstract: Health Care For All has drafted comprehensive legislation to control healthcare costs in Massachusetts. The bill, introduced by Senator Mark Montigny and Representative James Marzilli, encompasses 16 provisions that attack the problem of growing healthcare costs from a consumer perspective. We reject proposals that seek to reduce costs by imposing greater expenses on patients, such as high deductible "consumer-directed" plans, or higher copayments or coinsurance. Rather, we support fundamental reforms in financial incentives and care management that both improve quality and reduce costs. We see the ideas in this article and the legislation as the start of a new cost control conversation, not the conclusion. We invite discussion and feedback on our suggestions and encourage others to enter this conversation.
authors.affiliation: Health Care For All, Boston, MA 02110, USA.
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D003363:Cost Control / Q000379:methods; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics*; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D019472:Universal Health Insurance