Legislators show support for affordable health insurance

Cambridge Chronicle, July 15, 2004

Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios, and reps. Tim Toomey and Alice Wolf, voted July 7 to put an affordable health insurance amendment on the 2006 ballot, The Health Care for Massachusetts Campaign announced.

Fifty-one legislators are now co-sponsoring the measure, which requires the state to make sure every Massachusetts resident can get affordable coverage for medically necessary health and mental health care services, including prescription drugs. As a ballot petition, sent to the Legislature by 71,385 registered voters, it needs 50 legislators to vote "yes" in the scheduled July 7 Constitutional Convention to pass. Now, with more than 50 co-sponsors, only parliamentary trickery can block it from moving forward to next year's Constitutional Convention and then on to the ballot for voters to decide in 2006.

"[These legislators] join at least 50 other legislators as well as people from all across the state - working families, small business owners and health-care providers - who want everyone to have affordable access to health insurance. This is good news for the estimated 600,000 uninsured residents and for the taxpayers, hospitals, employers and folks with insurance who currently pay for their care," said Barbara Roop, the co-chairwoman of the Health Care for Massachusetts Campaign.

Passing this amendment will spark the debate for reforms to guarantee every Massachusetts resident access to high-quality, cost-effective care when they need it and to end the cost shifting responsible for the skyrocketing premiums that are rapidly pricing middle income, working families and small- and medium-sized employers our of the insurance market, Roop said.

"We are very grateful to our 51 co-sponsors," Roop added. "Their early leadership and willingness to put their support in writing is an invaluable service to all Massachusetts residents and to the commonwealth's economy. They are joined by many other legislators who will vote "yes" on July 7th to address the No. 1 worry of their constituents - the affordability of health insurance."

The Constitutional amendment requires elected officials to reform, with stakeholder input, our health-care system to ensure access to affordable health insurance for all residents - the key to getting the high-quality care that will over time reduce costs. Reputable studies show these reforms can be paid for by redirecting money already spent on care for the uninsured and wasted on complicated and burdensome bureaucracies. These changes will mean getting better value for our health-care dollar by using current dollars for direct investments in the health and welfare of all Massachusetts residents and in the vitality of our health-care economy.

Supporters of the measure point to several reasons why its passage is necessary, including:

* Skyrocketing premiums that are rapidly making health coverage unaffordable for middle income families and for small- and medium-sized employers which, in turn, threatens the financial stability of Massachusetts families and of the health-care system which accounts for almost 25 percent of our economy

* Rapidly growing uninsurance rates that threaten the health and financial well-being of Massachusetts families and fuel huge disparities in health outcomes in communities of color

* The failure to develop a legislative approach to universal coverage after almost a decade of debate.

"Action is needed now to end the profound injustice of excluding huge numbers of our friends, neighbors and co-workers from access to the high-quality care most of us take for granted, thereby condemning them to live sicker lives and die younger," said Dr. John Goodson, co-chairman of the HCMC. "The 51 co-sponsors have sent a strong signal to everyone who has a stake in designing a health-care system that works for patients, providers, employers and taxpayers that we're setting the table to begin the discussions that will lead to real reforms over the next few years. We are indebted to them and to the countless individuals and organizations that have supported and worked tirelessly to make universal access to the highest quality care the law in Massachusetts".

Business leaders, small business owners and health-care providers have expressed support for the measure. Several small business owners testified at a hearing earlier this spring or have submitted testimony to the legislative committee reviewing the proposal, including Harold Hestnes, senior partner at Hale & Dorr; William Spring, chairman of the Youth Committee of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board; and Nick Littlefield, senior partner at Foley Hoag; They were joined by a cross-section of community leaders and health-care providers, including Peter Slavin, CEO, Massachusetts General Hospital; Rev. Richard Richardson, Black Ministerial Alliance; and Kathy (sic) Higgins, President, Massachusetts Nurses Association.

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