From the indispensible Adam Reilly of the Phoenix, a great article on Speaker DiMasi and Senate Prez Travaglini. Here’s what folks who take interest in the day-to-day may need to know [my emphasis throughout]:
Right now, the legislature is slated to adjourn for the year onNovember 16. The economic-development debate is scheduled for October6. DiMasi has a major health-care speech scheduled the next day, at theBlue Cross?Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts; come November, hetold the Phoenix, the House ? which is still analyzing themorass of competing health-care proposals filed by the Senate, thegovernor, and the advocacy group Health Care for All ? is supposed tooffer its own, long-awaited piece of health-care legislation. DiMasisays he?ll call the health-care conference committee back into sessionif no health-care bill is passed by then ? but even so, this timetableleaves a dauntingly small window of time for lawmakers to hunker downin conference and come up with a compromise bill. If they pull it off,it?ll put an exclamation point on a charmed legislative year. If not,some real sparks may start to fly.
Wow, a health care bill by November? Some of us were expecting July. Things move fast with some leadership.
That makes this news from Health Care for All most interesting: 38,100 signatures for the MassACT ballot initiative in the first 10 days. That’s already 57% of the way to what they need to get to get on the ballot.
As if that weren’t enough, the feds are threatening to cut $385 million in aid in the state doesn’t reduce the number of uninsured. And here’s the line that is so one-sided I wonder how anyone who says this can sleep at night:
Some Democratic lawmakers have said the Legislature is reluctant tohand Romney a victory he could use to further his national ambitions.
No, no, no. Romney is dealing with a Democratic House, and a Democratic Senate. It is far more accurate to say this: "Romney is definitely reluctant to hand the Legislature a victory that would hamper his national ambitions."
So can we finally dispense with the celebrity-watch garbage? We don’t care about Mitt running for president. We care about people without health care.
You forgot the link to Adam’s piece I think, but interesting stuff. I hope to god this isn’t one of those “get something in place fast” crappy legislative moves though…
Thanks Lynne. Fixed it. Baby blogging is tough work.
Don’t forget that DiMasi split the Health Care Committee into TWO entities – two sets of hearings, two seperate votes.May not happen as fast as you think.
That makes this news from Health Care for All most interesting: 38,100 signatures for the MassACT ballot initiative in the first 10 days. That’s already 57% of the way to what they need to get to get on the ballot.I thought they needed something like 62,000 or so. Factor in the 1.5 rule* and they’re really like 35% of the way there. Still, great progress! I signed in Kenmore Square on Monday.* 1.5 rule: When getting signatures, get 1.5 signatures for every one legally needed. This is to deal with people who sign multiple times, people who are illegible, ineligable, and to deal with mistakes made by petitioners (like not separating sigs by town)
Re Peter’s comment about 2 sets of Committees.All the hearings have already been held. The bills are in the Health Care Financing Committee, which is the senior health care committee. They are working with the Speaker and the House Ways and Means Committee, the Financial Services Committee (jurisdiction over health insurance law) to put out a bill that will go more-or-less straight to the House floor.
I am happy to hear they are working on improving the health care system. Health insurance is a major aspect in many lives and we deserve to have a better health care system.