Articles by Steve LeBlanc

GOP Candidate Challenges Sen. Kerry on AIG Bailout

Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s Republican challenger in Massachusetts called on him to sell any stock he has in insurance giant American International Group and donate all campaign contributions from officials at the company to taxpayers. Republican Jeff Beatty said the …

Mass. Considering Traffic Flaggers Instead of Police at Construction Sites

Civilian flaggers dressed in orange safety vests could replace police officers at some roadside construction projects as early as October under regulations set to be unveiled by the Patrick administration Wednesday. Police unions have fiercely defended the paid details, but …

Mass. Insurers, Businesses Balk at Plan to Hike Health Fee

Massachusetts insurers and business owners have one question for Gov. Deval Patrick: Why us? Patrick is looking to tap insurers, businesses and hospitals to help close a looming $130 million budget hole in the state’s landmark 2006 health insurance law, …

Mass. Law Limiting Liability for Brownfields Transforms Landscape

Growing up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Henry Wainer remembers driving past the old Alden Corrugated Container Co. on trips out of the city. Then one day, the single-story cardboard box factory burned. The city bulldozed what remained and — in …

Mass. Mandatory Health Plan Enters Cost Control Phase

Massachusetts is facing a daunting goal as it enters the second year of its grand experiment of extending health care coverage to nearly all citizens — reining in spiraling costs that could threaten the landmark law. “The sustainability of reform …

Mass. Officials Cite Early Success for Mandatory Health Benefit Law

As Massachusetts’ landmark health care law nears another crucial deadline, its ripple effects continue to spread across the state and country. This week those charged with overseeing the law toasted what they said has been its single most dramatic success: …

Mass. Hospitals Share Data on Patient Injuries from Falls

They can be some of the most common — and most easily preventable — injuries suffered during a recovery and now the state’s hospitals say they are making progress in helping prevent falls among their patients. The Massachusetts Hospital Association …

Mass. Law Mandating Health Insurance Hits Critical Mile Marker

The goal was as audacious as it was simple: Plug the holes in Massachusetts’ health care network without resorting to the politically nuclear option of a single government-funded program. The result is a landmark insurance law praised as innovative, derided …

Educating Public is Next Challenge for Mass. Health Care Experiment

For the past year, those working on the Massachusetts landmark health care law have labored largely out of the limelight, drafting new regulations and enrolling the state’s poorest citizens in new subsidized health insurance programs. Come May 1, the law …

Mass. extends deadline for residents to buy health coverage

The board that oversees Massachusetts’ landmark health insurance law voted last month to delay key elements of the plan by a year and a half to give residents and businesses a chance to ramp up their health care coverage to …