Atrius Health appreciates the efforts of the House Ways and Means Committee in presenting H.4200, a well-balanced fiscally responsible FY’17 budget proposal that protects the programs and services critical to ensuring a healthy Commonwealth.  Next week the House will begin deliberations on the budget and there are several items that are of particular interest to Atrius Health and we would encourage members of the House to consider our positions on the following issues:

• We oppose Amendment #550 –

Atrius Health urges the Massachusetts Legislature to take a favorable vote now on H1577/S735, An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination.

As a large employer, as well as a health care provider that cares for many transgender patients, Atrius Health stands with many other organizations statewide in support of this important piece of legislation.

Massachusetts has already banned discrimination against transgender people in many areas such as housing,

Cholesterol. It’s a word frequently associated with health issues like heart disease, stroke, and even diabetes. Although cholesterol gets a pretty bad rap, our bodies produce it naturally. Of course, when it comes to something as delicate as the human body, too much or too little of anything can be cause for concern.

Let’s break down the basics:

What is cholesterol?

Simply put, cholesterol is a waxy,

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a demonstration pilot program targeted at reducing fraud and abusive practices occurring among home health agencies providing services to Medicare beneficiaries. This proposed rule would require five states, including Massachusetts, to obtain prior authorization for home health services.

If implemented, the prior authorization demonstration project would impact VNA Care Network, the largest non-profit home health provider in the state. VNA Care Network serves approximately 40,000 patients throughout eastern and central Massachusetts and provides about 500,000 certified home health service visits annually.

Atrius Health recently received its registration from the state’s Health Policy Commission (HPC) as a “Registered Provider Organization” (RPO). RPO filing is among a number of state reporting requirements under the “payment reform” law – Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012, An Act Improving the Quality of Health Care and Reducing Costs Through Increased Transparency, Efficiency and Innovation.

Chapter 224 required all provider organizations in the state to apply to the HPC as a RPO that involved the submission of a number of items including information on organizational and operational structure and governance as well as detailed physician rosters.

I recently had a conversation with my 90-year-old grandmother—who had given birth to 4 children between the ages of 23 and 30 years old. She asked me what the average age of my patients was. When I replied that the average age was 37, her surprised response back to me was, “You can help a 37 year old get pregnant?!” Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes!

As a fertility doctor,