Bill > S905

This bill introduces and mandates the use of a new metric called Weighted Average Payer Rate (WAPR) to improve health care cost accountability in Massachusetts. The WAPR is a complex calculation that separately determines inpatient and outpatient revenue per discharge/visit across three payer types (Commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid), then derives a weighted average based on each payer's Net Patient Service Revenue. The bill amends several sections of existing law to require public hearings and reporting that incorporate this new WAPR metric, which will enable more comprehensive examination of healthcare provider and payer costs. Specifically, the bill requires annual public hearings that will now include analysis of WAPR alongside other cost factors, mandates that healthcare providers and organizations provide testimony about their WAPR, and requires the state's healthcare commission to report the WAPR for acute hospitals and physician organizations. The goal appears to be creating greater transparency and understanding of healthcare pricing dynamics by introducing a more nuanced method of comparing and tracking healthcare costs across different payment systems and provider types.

Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S905