Worcester Business Journal

20 Worcester Business Journal • August 3, 2015 www.wbjournal.com G asoline prices are lower than they were a year ago, and wholesale power has fallen to its lowest monthly price in years. The region's grid operator, ISO New England, said that the price of power at the wholesale level in June was less than $20 per megawatt-hour, a drop of nearly 25 percent from May. Are these low energy prices having an impact on business? In our poll for the week of July 20, there's no clear consensus to that question. Has your business saved significantly on its energy costs in recent months? Energy savings anywhere? Best Advertising Agency Best Web Design Firm Proud Winner of Two 2015 Best of Business Awards Join the WBJ's LinkedIn discussion group by scanning the code to the left on your smartphone. To scan the code, you need the NeoReader. Visit get.neoreader.com to download it onto your phone. Want to participate in the conversation? B oston's attempt to host the 2024 Summer Olympics is dead, now that the United States Olympic Committee has withdrawn it. The decision came on the same day that Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he would not commit to signing an agreement with the committee until he saw a full financial picture of what city taxpayers would be on the hook for. Was that the right move? Most voters in last week's poll said it was. Did the U.S. Olympic Committee do the right thing by withdrawing Boston's bid to host the Olympics and look elsewhere? Olympic withdrawal was the right call COMMENTS: F L A S H P O L L T A L K B A C K No, the change has not affected our business. 36% "It was dead everywhere west of Route 95/128 a long time ago." Hard to tell 27% Yes 64% Yes, the lower prices have made a small difference. 23% No 24% "For once, a government official has made a financially sound decision. Bravo Mayor Walsh!" "This was a shortsighted mistake. Our region and its leaders are smart enough to have made it happen." VIRTUAL DOCTORS VISITS A HARSH REALITY? UMass Memorial Health Care announced it's entering the field of virtual doctors' visits after agreeing to a deal with a Minnesota company to provide online diagnosis and treatment for common medical conditions. But one reader believes it's not a good deal for patients. "I am disgusted and very disappointed that UMass Memorial would even consider having doctors 'diagnose' a patient on a 'virtual' basis. What is happening is that the bottom line is the bucks ... the insurance companies dictating things and the hospital not stepping up to them. This puts a patient at risk big time." Online reader janl ARE THERE LIMITATIONS WITH MEDICAID PROGRAM? A State House News Service story on how officials want to reduce "churn" among enrollees in MassHealth drew this comment about the state Medicaid program: "There are a huge amount of doctors that will not accept insurance (offered) via MassHealth. This severely limits service received. Even though people may be paying quite a bit for their insurance, you may have extremely limited coverage and therefore are forced to change plans to get decent coverage." Online reader schucon Yes, the lower prices have made a real difference. 14% The committee should have waited longer. 12%

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