The Slippery Slope of Health Care Finance: Business Interests and Hospital Reimbursement in Massachusetts

Abstract

In 1988 Massachusetts enacted a bill, popularly known as Health Care for All, which promised that by 1992 every Massachusetts resident would have available affordable insurance for basic medical expenses. This legislation was one of a series of laws enacted over a period of six years which progressively improved access to care for the uninsured. The policy process which led to the enactment of these laws was strongly influenced by the interests of large employers. This article describes the series of access-expanding hospital reimbursement changes in Massachusetts in the 1980s and traces the connection between the involvement of business interests in the policy process and the outcomes that occurred; that is, it follows the slide of employers down the slippery slope of health care finance. The article also describes a potential implementation strategy for the Health Care for All legislation.