A Message from the Director

Center's work improves public control, brings rationality to health care financing maze

On behalf of our parent institution, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, I am pleased to welcome you to our Web site and share with you some details about the Center for Health Care Financing.

Founded within the higher education authority of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Center is comprised of approximately 300 state employees dedicated primarily to helping the Commonwealth’s human service agencies, in particular its Medicaid program, fulfill their fiscal goals. 

In recent years, interest in the Center's expertise has grown, and our staff is now working to enhance health care financing operations in 11 other states around the country.

Our 'public' philosophy and mission

Housed as we are within a public academic health science center, we place deliberate emphasis on translational research and information sharing. Our philosophy is that public programs are best run by dedicated public employees working in the public’s interest.  As a result, we believe it is critical that state governments develop a greater capacity to maintain operational control over core public agency functions. We will lend our assistance, whether advisory, consultative, or operational, to help states meet that goal. 

It is our mission to help bring rationality to the financing maze reflected in the United States health care system, ensuring that individuals are receiving the right health insurance packages, and that appropriate payers are found and fulfill their obligation to pay.

Challenges ahead

Operating Medicaid programs is undoubtedly one of the most difficult and complex undertakings of state government, a task that will be made more challenging with the new eligibility of millions of additional citizens for the program under health care reform. Now it is more important than ever that individuals be grouped under the appropriate health insurance packages. Without that, key cost assumptions made by all the major health payers — federal and state governments and private insurers — will prove to be misinformed.

Our Web site

We hope that our Web site will provide useful information to people working in health and human service agencies. Please feel free to use this site to share novel ideas, projects, or advice. We would be happy to accommodate specific requests.  

Best regards,

Marc A. Thibodeau, J.D., M.S.