Use of free care drops, hospital group says

Patients made 12 percent fewer visits to hospitals seeking state-paid free care in fiscal 2007 than in the previous year, according to a report released yesterday by the Massachusetts Hospital Association. During the same period, tens of thousands of low-income people were enrolled in state insurance plans as a result of the state's healthcare initiative. "This is another indicator that healthcare reform is succeeding," said Sarah Iselin, commissioner of the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, which oversees the free-care pool, but was not involved in the report. ". . . We expect to experience additional decline in demand."

The Patrick administration acknowledged yesterday that it is planning to use $469 million in rainy day funds to balance the budget, $100 million more than previously acknowledged. In releasing its budget last month, administration officials said they would be spending $369 million from the fund and repeated that information this week when House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi said he wanted to use $427 million in rainy day funds. But yesterday administration officials said they were not including in their estimates the diversion of money that was scheduled to be added to the fund.

In a blow to the state's labor unions yesterday, the House and Senate approved freezing the unemployment insurance rate. The move blocks a rate increase that was scheduled to go into effect in March, leaving $152 million in the hands of businesses each year. Unions tried to persuade legislators not to freeze the insurance rate. No one in either chamber called for a roll call vote, so the position of individual legislators is not known, making it harder for unions to punish those who voted against them. The bill now needs the signature of Governor Deval Patrick, who has indicated that he is open to freezing the rates.

Governor Deval Patrick announced yesterday that the University of Massachusetts at Lowell will receive $4 million to help establish a life sciences facility there. The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center is a partnership between UMass-Lowell and the UMass Medical School in Worcester, and it will work with Massachusetts companies to develop medical devices. The state funding will come from a bond issue already approved by the Legislature and will be added to private, federal, and local funds for the project, according to the governor's office.

A Chelsea man pleaded guilty yesterday to running a gambling operation in Greater Boston, extorting money, and, in some cases, assaulting his victims, prosecutors said. William Angelesco, 36, was sentenced by Middlesex Superior Court Judge Linda E. Giles to five to seven years in state prison, followed by five years of supervised probation and random drug and alcohol testing. The attorney general's office said State Police investigators used a wiretap to intercept numerous communications between Angelesco and his associates.

Full electrical power has been restored to the liquefied natural gas tanker that broke down off Cape Cod, and crews were working yesterday to repair the ship's propulsion system. The 933-foot LNG tanker Catalunya Spirit is being repaired off the coast of Gloucester at the site of a planned offshore liquefied natural gas facility near Eastern Point Light, according to the Coast Guard. It was taken in tow Tuesday by four tugboats after drifting for hours. The Spanish-flagged tanker broke down about 3 a.m. Monday en route from Trinidad to the LNG facility in Everett. There has been no structural damage to the ship, and no liquefied natural gas has leaked from the tanker, the Coast Guard said.

A second Republican has entered the race for the US Senate seat held by John F. Kerry. Jeffrey Beatty, 54, is a Harwich businessman who ran unsuccessfully against US Representative William D. Delahunt in 2006. Beatty is a former US Army Delta Force officer who was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries suffered in Grenada in 1983. James Ogonowski announced his candidacy for the Senate last month. The Dracut Republican lost in October to Democrat Niki Tsongas in a special election for the Fifth Congressional District. (AP)