Baker-Polito Administration Names Appointees to Special Commission to Review Variation in Prices Among Providers
BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced eight gubernatorial appointees to the 23-member Special Commission to Review Variation in Prices among Providers. This commission will review various factors contributing to price variation in physician, hospital, diagnostic testing and ancillary services, under a consensus reform solution reached in partnership with Senate President Stan Rosenberg and House Speaker Robert DeLeo earlier this year on the Health Care Price Variation Measure.
“I was pleased to work with legislative leaders to come to a consensus solution addressing these important issues in the health care industry,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We look forward to reviewing the commission’s recommendations and continuing to work with the legislature to resolve the matter of price variation.”
By statute, the Commission will also include the Secretaries for Administration and Finance and Health and Human Services, the Attorney General, and the Executive Director of the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), or their designees, legislative appointees, and health care industry experts, under the co-leadership of the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing Senator James Welch and House Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing Representative Jeffrey Sanchez.
“These appointees come from across the Commonwealth equipped with a deep understanding of the health care industry,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “This special commission will significantly aide in helping to determine the necessity for appropriate actions related to health care pricing.”
Special Commission to Review Variation in Prices Among Providers
*or a designee; **gubernatorial appointment
Senator James Welch, Co-Chair
Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing
Representative Jeffrey Sanchez, Co-Chair
House Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing
Attorney General Maura Healey*
Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore*
Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders*
GIC Executive Director Dr. Roberta Herman*
Dr. Stuart Altman, Brandeis University
Appointee of Senate President Stan Rosenberg
Dr. Howard Grant, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Appointee of Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr
Representative Ron Mariano
Appointee of House Speaker Robert DeLeo
Rick Lord, Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM)
Appointee of House Minority Leader Bradley Jones
Deb Devaux, Chief Operating Officer
Representative of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc.
Lora Pellegrini, President & CEO
Representative of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Inc.
Steven Walsh, President & CEO
Representative of the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, Inc.
Lynn Nicholas, President & CEO
Representative of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, Inc.
John Fernandez, Chair
Representative of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, Inc.
Steve Carey, Vice President of Human Resources**
Polar Beverages
Gregory DeConciliis, Administrator**
Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites
Connie Englert, Principal and Managing Director**
TrueNorth Transit Group, LLC
Dr. Richard Frank, Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics**
Harvard Medical School Department of Health Care Policy
Mark Goldstein, President & CEO**
Anna Jacques Hospital
Tyrék D. Lee Sr., Executive Vice President**
1199SEIU
Dr. David Torchiana, President & CEO**
Partners Healthcare
Kate Walsh, President & CEO**
Boston Medical Center
About the Gubernatorial Appointees (8):
Steve Carey:
As a successful human resources executive, Stephen P. Carey has a 20-year record of implementing effective organizational improvements, processes, and productivity to day-to-day operations, while maintaining the integrity of the institution and enhancing its viability. Holding a Masters degree in Business Administration from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mr. Carey created the Human Services role for Polar Beverages in 1998—one of Massachusetts’ most well-respected and successful family-owned companies—advancing the position to one of leadership and vision. He continues to serve in that role as Vice President of Human Resources/Safety. Mr. Carey currently serves on the Board of Family Services of Central Massachusetts.
Gregory P. DeConciliis:
Graduating from Stonehill College with a Bachelor’s in Biology in 1997, Gregory P. DeConciliis has served in healthcare for over 16 years. He began as a Physician Assistant in Orthopedics for New England Baptist Hospital before becoming a Physician Assistant and Administrator at the Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites in Waltham. In 2013, DeConciliis was elected President of the Massachusetts Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers, where he works collaboratively with the Department of Public Health, the Betsy Lehman Center, the Health Policy Commission, the national Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and the state’s major insurers.
Connie Englert:
Connie Englert, a graduate of Vassar College with a degree in Urban Studies, has nearly 30 years of experience in transportation working for some of the nation’s largest transit companies and systems. Her service includes time as a Senior Operations Planner at the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) and Manager of Transit Programs at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), as well as Amtrak, JetBlue, United Airlines, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). In 2015, Englert founded TrueNorth Transit Group, a rural and regional transportation and consulting collaborative in Shelburne Falls.
Dr. Richard G. Frank:
Harvard’s Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics, Dr. Richard G. Frank has more than 30 years of experience, including as a former Assistant and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation for the Department of Health & Human Services and on the President’s Task Force on Health Care Reform. Dr. Frank, who obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Boston University, worked as an economist at the Division of Biometry and Epidemiology at the National Institute of Mental Health, before teaching at the University of Pittsburgh and Johns Hopkins University.
Mark L. Goldstein:
Mr. Mark L. Goldstein has over twenty-five years of healthcare, budgeting and financial planning experience with firms and hospitals in Massachusetts, holding degrees in Health Administration and Accounting from Worcester State College, in Business Administration from Boston University, and Executive Management and Leadership Training from the University of Michigan. He has held senior roles with Blue Cross Blue Shield, University Hospital Medical Center, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Winchester Hospital and Boston Medical Center. Since 2006, Mr. Goldstein has worked at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, serving initially as CFO before transitioning into the role of President and CEO in 2015.
Tyrék D. Lee Sr.:
Working in Massachusetts labor, healthcare and social justice movements for over a decade, Tyrék D. Lee, Sr. was appointed the 1199SEIU Executive Vice President in January, 2016, having served as a Vice President since 2010, where he played a key role in the union’s organizing, political, coalition building and negotiating strategies. Lee is also the Secretary-Treasurer of the SEIU Massachusetts State Council, a vice president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Eastern Region President for the SEIU African American Caucus (AFRAM), and an executive board member of the Greater Boston Labor Council.
Dr. David F. Torchiana:
With a degree in Biology from Yale University and doctorate from Harvard Medical School, Dr. David F. Torchiana serves as a Senior Surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and President and CEO of Partners HealthCare. Dr. Torchiana specializes in cardiothoracic surgery, having worked in the healthcare industry for over 30 years. Dr. Torchiana serves with the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the Digital Healthcare Steering Committee of Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, American College of Surgeons and the American Surgical Association.
Kate Walsh:
Receiving her bachelors and Masters degrees in Public Health from Yale University, Kate Walsh has worked in hospital administration for nearly four decades, beginning at Brookside Health Center in Jamaica Plain and later at several hospitals in New York. Ms. Walsh’s leadership roles include Senior Vice President at Massachusetts General Hospital, Chief Operating Officer at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge and the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer at Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospitals in Boston. Ms. Walsh currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer at Boston Medical Center and Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan.
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