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Worcester hospital to Mass General Brigham: Keep your grubby hands away from Westborough
By adamg on Thu, 03/04/2021 - 10:06am
The Worcester Business Journal reports how UMass Memorial Health Care is fighting the Boston hospital chain's effort to build an outpatient facility in Westborough, just two towns over from UMass's affiliated Marlborough Hospital.
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If there's local competition
If there's local competition between hospitals, what could happen next? Lower prices for health care?
Theoretically
But hospital care isn't exactly like cars or washing machines - you don't go shopping among hospitals for kidney surgery, but go where your doctor sends you. And if that's the case, then UMass can make the case (and it does) that the former Partners will only raise prices because they are one of the higher-charging medical systems in the state - and because now the system as a whole has to pay for twice as many outpatient surgical suites and the like (their other case, that Partners will steal patients from them, is implied, I'm guessing).
I go where my insurance
I go where my insurance company sends me. If MGH was in-network but UMass wasn't, I'd certainly appreciate the new option.
And while I don't get to shop on price, insurance companies do when they negotiate their in-network rates. Basic economics says more hospital capacity means lower prices. MGH needs to fill those beds. If they can't fill them at the prices they charge, they will have to lower the prices.
MGB is just expanding their
MGB is just expanding their clinics to places where their presence is needed.
#proudmgbemployee
Not really
I'd love to see the stats on that.
You know where their presence is needed? Southeastern MA, Central MA, Western MA.
My geography is not as good
My geography is not as good in wilds of Rt 9, but isn't Westborough "Central Mass"?