Health or Consequences

[Originally published Oct 27, 2024]

This week on The Codcast, John McDonough of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute sit down with Sen. Cindy Friedman of Middlesex to discuss how the state Legislature is tackling health care reform. They unpack the fragility of Massachusetts' health care following Steward hospital closures, holding insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and private equity accountable, and maintaining transparency in the legislative process.

[Originally published Sep 27, 2024]

This week on The Codcast, John McDonough of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute are joined by Dr. Abha Agrawal, CEO of Lawrence General Hospital. They discuss her vision for a community-based health system, barriers to advancing equity in Merrimack Valley health care, and the hospital 'safety net' amidst a transition to 3 hospitals.

[Originally published Aug 11, 2024]

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute and John McDonough of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to discuss the current state of the Steward Health Care bankruptcy, as well as what healthcare policy measures did and didn't make it through the end of the legislative session.

[Originally published Jun 14, 2024]

This week, John McDonough of the TH Chan School and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute are joined by Lauren Peters, executive director of the MA Center for Health Information and Analysis. They discuss the center's role in informing public policy discussions, its involvement in the Steward saga, and a variety of significant trends in MA health care, including overall spending and the shortage of primary care physicians.

[Originally May 16, 2024]

This week on The Codcast, Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute and John McDonough of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are joined by Eric Gold, partner at Manatt Health and former Chief of the Health Care Division at the MA Attorney General's Office. They discuss the implications of the Steward Health Care bankruptcy for regulatory oversight, as well as the healthcare reform bill currently in the legislature.

[Originally published Apr 19, 2024]

This week, Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute and John McDonough of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are joined by Charlie Donahue, executive director of the Health Planning Council of Greater Boston from 1981-88. They discuss the successes and failures of that organization, and whether a similar model could work today.

[Originally Mar 15, 2024]

Longtime Massachusetts Nurses Association executive director Julie Pinkham talks to John McDonough and Paul Hattis about the MNA's relationship to Steward Health Care over the years, the consequences of healthcare deregulation, and how the state can facilitate a positive outcome in the present situation.

[Originally published Jan 26, 2024]

This week on Health or Consequences, John McDonough and Paul Hattis are joined by Michael Levine, Assistant Secretary for MassHealth. They discuss the importance of MassHealth in the MA healthcare landscape, the agency's holistic approach to coverage and service provision, its response to the pandemic, and its relationship to the federal government.

[Originally published Dec 10, 2023]

This week on Health or Consequences, hosts Paul Hattis and John McDonough are joined by David Seltz, founding executive director of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. They discuss what the HPC has learned about health care costs over the last decade, where Massachusetts stands relative to other states, and the HPC's current policy priorities.

[Originally published Nov 26, 2023]

This week, Paul Hattis and John McDonough of Health or Consequences are joined by Barbara Fain, executive director of the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety. They discuss the state of knowledge around medical care errors, as well as ongoing efforts to respond to and reduce it.