Healthcare

The Charles "Colby" Hewitt Jr. Healthcare Research and Lecture Program

In 2006, Pioneer Institute launched an effort to endow a healthcare research and lecture program in memory of its former chairman, "Colby" Hewitt. To donate to the Hewitt Endowment, click here.

Pioneer's healthcare research is focused on:

Medicaid and Healthcare Budget Busters

Across the country, state and local healthcare expenditures have gone from $121 billion in 1993 to more than $285 billion in 2007. The number is expected to reach $565 billion by 2016 - a five-fold increase in 23 years. Building on its research into Massachusetts' $13 billion liability for employee healthcare benefits, Pioneer will focus on ways for cities and towns to manage their liabilites. At the state level, Pioneer will focus on the cost of Medicaid programs, specifically long-term care and insurance reforms.

Cost Containment

Healthcare costs loom as large for businesses as they do for state and local governments. Through case studies of successful programs that businesses have implemented to promote employee wellness and contain costs, Pioneer will provide ideas to help other businesses, large and small, compete by reducing their healthcare costs.

Massachusetts Healthcare Reform

As the landmark healthcare legislation Massachusetts passed last year becomes a model copied by everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Hillary Clinton, it is essential Pioneer track its progress to determine whether it is working.

Recent Projects and Events:

Event:Getting the Incentives Right.

The 2006 Colby Hewitt Healthcare Lecture, with Dr. Daniel H. Johnson, Jr., past President of the American and World Medical Associations.

Event and Report:The Massachusetts Healthcare Reform: A Blueprint for the Future.

Presentations and a panel discussion with John Goodman, President of the National Center for Policy Analysis, Regina Herzlinger of the Harvard Business School, and Tim Murphy, Secretary of the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Report:The Elephant in the Room: Unfunded Public Employee Health Care Benefits & GASB 45.

Pioneer's groundbreaking review of public employee healthcare commitments outlined how to address the Commonwealth's $13 billion liability. The primary recommendations, including the creation of a separate, irrevocable trust and a down payment of $425 million, were adopted by Governor Patrick.

Event:Who Killed Health Care?

The 2007 Colby Hewitt Health Care Lecture, with Regina Herzlinger, Harvard Business School professor and author of "Who Killed Health Care?"