State Advocacy

The MMS advances its advocacy agenda via the executive and legislative branches of Massachusetts state government through legislation, regulation and policymaking.

• House Releases Payment Reform Legislation May 4, 2012

  House leaders unveil their approach to cost control and payment reform.

• DPH Official: Prescription Program Is a Tool, Not a 'Blunt Instrument April 24, 2012

• A Roadmap for Removing Barriers to Disclosure, Apology and Offer in Massachusetts Executive Summary (pdf) April 17, 2012

  A Roadmap for Removing Barriers to Disclosure, Apology and Offer in Massachusetts (Funded by AHRQ Planning Grant #R21 HS19537-01) Executive Summary April 2012 Synopsis In a joint initiative with the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) received a...

• MMS Testimony In Support Of An Act Relative To Improving Patients Access To Timely Compensation February 28, 2012

  (H.418, H.421, S.766, S.808) And Other Medical Liability Legislation Before The Joint Committee On Judiciary February 28, 2012 Physicians' criticisms about our medical liability system have long been loud and clear: it leads to frivolous lawsuits, undermines patient safety, reduces...

• Massachusetts Medical Society Urges Legislature to Revise HIV Testing Bill February 28, 2012

  As the Massachusetts legislature prepares to take up a bill on HIV testing, the Massachusetts Medical Society is urging lawmakers to "address long-standing flaws in our HIV testing and confidentiality laws" and to make testing and treatment part of routine medical care, an approach long advocated...

• MMS Testimony In Opposition to the adoption of Emergency Amendments to 105 CMR 100.000 Determination of Need February 14, 2012

  The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) wishes to be recorded in opposition to the adoption of emergency regulations concerning the Determination of Need (DON) process as applied to ambulatory surgery centers (ASC’s).

• MMS Opposes Prescription Drug Prescriber Mandate February 2, 2012

  MMS argues that while a very useful tool, the voluntary prescription drug prescirbing reporting programs is still evolving and we quesiton its ability to accommodate the needs of 20,000 new practitioners in a timely and useful manner.

• The Economic Impact of Office-Based Physicians in Massachusetts (pdf) March 23, 2011

  The Economic Impact of Office-Based Physicians in Massachusetts State Report Prepared for: The American Medical Association Prepared by: SNR Denton & The Lewin Group, Inc. January 2011 The Economic Impact of Office-Based Physicians in Massachusetts Table of Contents Executive Summary...

• Key Elements of Governor Patrick's Payment Reform Legislation February 18, 2011

  February 18, 2011 Here are some of the key elements of Gov. Patrick's payment reform bill, "An Act Improving the Quality of Health Care and Controlling Costs by Reforming Health systems and Payments." This summary is not a complete listing of the bill's provisions. The full text of the...

• Economic Impact of Office-Based Physicians in Massachusetts January 31, 2011

• Section by Section Summary: House Small Business Health Care Bill (pdf) July 21, 2010

   

• MMS Expresses “Serious Concern” About Cost Control Legislation March 10, 2010

• At the State House, MMS Leaders Urge Caution and Pilot Projects for Payment Reform October 9, 2009

  October 8, 2009 Massachusetts Medical Society physicians joined several health care providers Thursday in urging the State Legislature to move carefully in adopting a new payment model for physicians and hospitals. MMS President Mario Motta, MD, said, "If we move too quickly and rattle the...

• Society and Medical Board Tackle Tough Issues Amid New Spirit of Collaboration October 28, 2008

  In an extraordinary public meeting, MMS officers met with the state Board of Registration in Medicine (BRM) to inaugurate what both sides hope will be a new era of cooperation and collaboration on matters important to patients, physicians, and regulators.

• Society to Weigh in Frequently on Implementation of Chapter 305 October 28, 2008

  The Massachusetts Medical Society was successful in significantly improving the comprehensive "cost control" bill filed by Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) last March. But critical decisions still have to be made around the implementation of the law (Chapter 305 of the Acts of 2008),...

• Analysis of Health Plan Compliance With Chapter 141 September 18, 2006

  This MMS study, updated in September 2006, reviews compliance with the 2000 law regulating health plan practices.