BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts House of Representatives has passed a proposal that aims to reel in the state's spiraling health care costs by $160 billion over the next 15 years. The House and Senate must now resolve their differences over the measure before it can go to Gov. Deval Patrick.

Lawmakers have been working on legislation that tries to lower the costs resulting from the 2006 landmark Massachusetts health care legislation that mandates health insurance for nearly all state residents. The House passed its version of the bill 148-7 late Tuesday night.

This bill aims to contain health care costs by evening out disparities in the prices of health services. It would require hospitals that charge more than 20 percent above the state median price for a service to pay a 10 percent surcharge.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.