On July 29th, the Ten Taxpayer Group sent a letter to the Health Policy Commission (HPC), asking them to request a change in the scope of the Boston Children’s Hospital required cost analysis.

As you likely know, Children's is still awaiting initial approval from the state in order to move forward with its proposed expansion project. In February, the Department of Public Health (DPH) said Children’s must provide a cost analysis (or ICA) that demonstrates that its expansion project — the one that includes destroying the Prouty Garden — is “consistent with the Commonwealth’s efforts to meet ... health care cost-containment goals.”

Lawyers for the Ten Taxpayer Group advise that, in their opinion, the ICA will be legally inadequate if it follows the original scope.

The letter to the HPC, an agency that is party to the DPH DoN process and dedicated to playing watchdog on health care costs in MA, asks the Commission to request a change in scope due to the scope's "grievous inadequacies," including:

The effect on overall state pediatric spending
The project's impact on outpatient services
The project's effect on Medicaid
The changing health care cost growth benchmark
The $138.5 million increase in BCH operating costs

These analyses would shed light on the true financial implications of this project, especially as it impacts health care costs in Massachusetts.

You can read the full letter to the HPC here.