Mass. plan may limit hospital choice

And the plot thickens. At the first meeting of the Massachusetts group charged with implementing the state's ambitious insurance reform plan, a state official said that the best way of keeping the program's costs down would be to "restrict patient access to a limited number of hospitals." The Massachusetts Connector is charged with implementing Gov. Mitt Romney's plan to require that all state residents maintain health insurance. Under the proposal, insurers will play a major role in developing a cost-effective approach to the challenge.

"We want to be open to what health plans bring us," said Connector chief executive Jon Kingsdale, formerly of Tufts Health Plan. "I suspect if there is substantial value in limited networks, we'd be open to them."

- read this article from Boston.com