August 1, 2012

Andrew Dreyfus' Statement — Senate bill 2400
"Massachusetts has been a national model for expanding access to health care services. And now, we are poised to lead again — this time in addressing the cost of care.

Working together in a spirit of shared responsibility, our community has made significant progress over the past two years toward our shared goal of making quality health care affordable for the people and employers of our state.

This legislation represents another important milestone in our ongoing efforts.

Balancing the need for government-led accountability and market-led innovation, the legislation includes a number of important provisions that will complement and even accelerate affordability-related initiatives already underway in the market.

These include significant changes to the health care payment system that reward quality and efficiency, greater transparency for consumers, reforms to the existing medical malpractice system, and, for the first time in the nation, a specific medical spending target to ensure that health care spending grows no faster than the rest of our economy.

The ultimate success of the law will depend on its regulatory implementation. As that process moves forward, we at Blue Cross look forward to working with the Patrick Administration and others to ensure that the cost and quality of patient care remain the focus."

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. Celebrating our 75th anniversary in 2012, we are committed to working with others in a spirit of shared responsibility to make quality health care affordable. Consistent with our corporate promise to always put our 2.8 million members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality.