Morton Hospital provides important healthcare services to the city of Taunton and its surrounding suburbs. Unfortunately, the hospital is facing financial difficulties and may soon layoff some of its employees. In 2011, Steward Health Care System bought the hospital, which was burdened with millions of dollars of debt from employee pensions. Steward is a for-profit healthcare company that has proposed cutting at least 8 jobs at Morton Hospital. However, the company will have to listen to the Morton employees’ union, 1199SEIU, before making any personnel decisions. The union has successfully negotiated some rights, such as severance packages, for any workers that may be impacted. Hopefully, any layoffs do not affect the quality of healthcare provided by the hospital. Morton Hospital has received an “A” grade from The Leapfrog Group confirming its healthcare excellence. However, past healthcare excellence does not mean that medical mistakes have not occurred. If you are a Taunton resident who is the victim of a medical mistake you should contact a personal injury lawyer.
Massachusetts Passes Healthcare Cost Containment Law
A recent law will affect all Massachusetts hospitals including Morton Hospital. On August 6, 2012, Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, signed a bill aimed at healthcare cost containment. Massachusetts continues setting the trend for state regulation of the healthcare system. The state’s 2006 healthcare insurance reform bill signed by Mitt Romney is often cited as the model for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by Barak Obama. Now Massachusetts has passed a law aimed at saving $200 billion over 15 years. State Senator Richard Moore stated that “this is the first time any state has attempted to set a cost growth goal close to the inflation rate.” The goal is to decrease healthcare costs by improving the quality and efficiency of the healthcare system. The advocacy group, Health Care For All, supports the new law commenting that “by paying for quality, not quantity, our state’s healthcare system will be better and more cost-effective.
The new law is designed to encourage the creation of “accountable care organizations” that will allow patients to easily access their medical records and prevent patients from undergoing unnecessary testing. The law also authorizes $135 million in grant funds to help hospitals convert to electronic medical records systems. It also aims to encourage medical malpractice settlement by imposing a 182-day “cooling off” period where the parties to a medical malpractice suit can negotiate settlement. The new law also creates a “Wellness Tax Credit” to incentivize businesses to adopt programs that prevent chronic preventable diseases. This fairly recent law is likely to effect the administration of healthcare at Taunton’s Morton Hospital. Hopefully, this recent law will allow the hospital to avoid any layoffs in the coming months.
Are You A Taunton Resident With A Medical Malpractice Claim?
If you or a loved one has been injured because of medical malpractice, the lawyers at d’Oliveira & Associates wants you to know that you may be entitled to compensation. Our law firm has an office located at 123 Broadway in Taunton and we have years of experience when it comes to personal injury lawsuits and we work with some of the leading medical malpractice attorneys in MA, who handle these cases. Please contact the law offices of d’Oliveira & Associates at 1-800-992-6867 or fill out a contact form for a free legal consultation.
Paul d’Oliveira
Attorney Paul d’Oliveira has been practicing personal injury and disability law for over 30 years. He started his personal injury law practice in 1989 with two offices in Fall River, MA and East Providence, RI. Today his firm has 16 offices in RI and Southeastern, MA.
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