Mass. health care costs outpace nation

By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff

The latest findings from Governor Deval Patrick’s administration on health care costs confirms that Massachusetts stands out, and not in a good way.

Spending on medical care for privately insured residents climbed 6 percent from 2007 to 2008 and another 10 percent from 2008 to 2009. That far outpaced national growth, which was 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, in those years.

For privately insured patients, rising provider prices for inpatient and outpatient hospital care and for physicians’ services played a significant role in rising costs, a much bigger role than increased use of services in Massachusetts, according to the report by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.

Higher prices, for example, accounted for nearly all of the increase in inpatient hospital spending from 2007 to 2009. And for all types of imaging, higher payments for scans and other tests -- not greater use of those services -- drove much or all of the growth in spending.

The administration is required by law to conduct an annual study of health care cost trends. These findings will be discussed in detail over four days of hearings starting on June 27 at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston.