President Obamas reelection lifted much of the cloud that hung over the health care industry in Massachusetts, where caregivers and insurers anticipated a push to repeal the national health care overhaul if Mitt Romney had become president.
This outcome provides an opportunity for greater cooperation and less contention, said James Roosevelt Jr., chief executive of Tufts Health Plan.
But health care organizations are still seeking clarity on many features of the now secure Affordable Care Act, many of which have not yet taken effect. The federal overhaul includes regulations requiring insurers to invest in new technology and funds for expanding Medicaid and revamping Medicare payments as the state presses forward with its own efforts to rein in costs and build more integrated health care networks.
Obamas victory removes a layer of uncertainty for health plans, providers, and employers, said Andrew Dreyfus, chief executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the states largest health insurer. Now were waiting to hear about the rule-making.
Some executives said the lack of any near-term challenge to the national health care law cements Massachusetts position as a model for other states working to expand medical care coverage and coordinated care. In particular, they cited controversial provisions such as state health insurance exchanges, pioneered here in 2007, that will now go forward.
The national overhaul, modeled after the states landmark law passed in 2006 under Governor Mitt Romney, was supported by most health care leaders in Massachusetts.
In my mind, the election confirms the wisdom of what were already doing, said Gene Lindsey, chief executive of Atrius Health, a Newton-based alliance of community physicians groups that includes Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. Now its up to us to make it work.
But while a second term for Obama may have, for now, settled the large issue will health care overhauls move forward? there is less certainty about many of the details, including a range of new regulations and costs yet to be spelled out.
For example, health plans are expecting federal rules in coming weeks mandating technology investments to handle new insurance products. Implementing them could cost Boston-based Blue Cross Blue Shield $10 million to $15 million next year, Dreyfus estimated. The law also permits a rate band allowing insurers to charge older members up to three times as much as younger members under some policies. Currently, the state permits them to charge up to twice as much.
The biggest question remaining may be the impact of the automatic spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1 or similar reductions in any deal reached in Washington, D.C., between now and then on federal funds to expand Medicaid in states.
Read more:
National overhaul secure for now, Massachusetts health care leaders still seek clarity on many issues
