Health Care Reform on Beacon Hill
BWH, Partners and the entire medical community in Massachusetts are keeping a close eye on Beacon Hill in the next two months as state lawmakers are expected to vote on some form of health care reform as hundreds of millions of dollars for the uncompensated care pool and Medicaid reimbursements are at stake.
The stakes got even higher in September when the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 748,000 people in Massachusetts did not have health insurance, and that count is 50 percent more than state estimates. Meanwhile, time is growing short, as the House and Senate reconvened in formal session in September after the summer break.
Gov. Mitt Romney has proposed his Healthy Net and Commonwealth Care plans which would come with individual mandates for health insurance. Sen. Richard T. Moore and Rep. Deborah Blumer proposed the Health Access and Affordability Act which has the backing of the Massachusetts Hospital Association and many labor unions. Moore and Senate President Robert Travaglini also filed legislation centered around bringing health insurance coverage to more Massachusetts residents.
Also, the group MassACT is pushing a ballot initiative that would bring health insurance to everyone in the state.
BWH and Partners encourage medical staff to voice their concerns to their lawmakers. To become part of Massachusetts Health Reform, a Partners and Blue Cross Blue Shield advocacy network, visit www.massachusettshealthreform.org/joinUs.aspx