Tomorrow the State Senate is going to be debating a Healthcare reform bill that will change the way Massachusetts insurance companies pay for healthcare. This is a huge deal. We set the stage for the national healthcare reform and all eyes are on us to see how this plays out.
Right now as you have probably heard (and experienced for yourself), healthcare costs are rising at crazy rates. This bill would help shift the incentives and, hopefully, keep costs down.
They’re debating tomorrow so they need to hear from you. If you haven’t already, please call now! You can use this website to find the phone number of your senator: wheredoivotema.com
Here’s what you can say:
- Don’t Sunset Prevention – Support Amendment 30 by Senator Chandler so that the Prevention Trust Fund does not expire after 5 years. We support a strong public health and prevention trust to invest in community-based public health programs and we don’t want this funding drying up after five years.
- Reward Good Outcomes – Support Amendment 45 by Senator Montigny and reward providers who achieve good outcomes, like reducing potentially avoidable admissions, readmissions, or complications.
- Protect Everyone’s Health – Support Amendment 81 by Senator Rush to extend protections for vulnerable patients in all health plans, not just public health plans. Nobody should be denied care just because their care is expensive or complicated.
You can read the full list of amendments that Health Care For All supports on their blog – and definitely ask your Senator to check out Health Care for All’s blog as well if you feel like it.
I don’t work for Health Care for All but am a volunteer and have been impressed with their work on this issue. When I talked to my Senator’s office they were happy to hear from me and glad to hear my targeted support.
Also worth mentioning is another item that was not included in Health Care For All’s list of supported amendments — it’s a plan put forth by State Senator Jamie Eldridge to automatically “trigger” a statewide system of single-payer healthcare in the year 2015 (if it is determined that such a system would be more cost-effective based on studies and comparisons over the next few years).
The amendment is definitely worth your a read; it can be found as #125 on the list of Amendments.
What I find most interesting about the politics of single-payer healthcare is that this concept is actually part of the official platform for the Massachusetts Democratic Party — and Democrats control roughly 80% of state legislature — so why don’t we have it already?
But now that we have a fairly progressive Governor, a progressive State Senator, and a hack Speaker who relies on progressive support can’t we just pass single payer or at least a public option already? That would truly be leading the way, not that these tangible reforms are anything to laugh at and obviously these policy makers really put a lot of thought into it. But this conversation needs to start at the grassroots level now.