I emailed my rep this morning urging him to support employer "pay or play" in the House health care bill, and I got a very nice email back with this astonishing line in it:
You are the first person on either side of this crucial issue to weigh in.
Unbelievable. The biggest public policy debate the State House has seen in years, and my rep hadn’t heard from a single constituent.
The House is debating the health care bill TODAY. Your rep needs to hear from you NOW. Don’t let the Chamber of Commerce dictate the outcome. Your rep works for you, not for them.
Please share widely!
Who is your rep? I’ve e-mailed mine (Honan) and dropped a letter off in his office. He was there, but he wouldn’t come out to talk.
Mine is Marzilli. He’s on the correct side of this one (as he usually is). Thanks for speaking out!
David,What is the rush? How can I influence my Rep. when I don’t even know where I fall on the issue? You?re surprised that people are not knocking down their Reps. Doors? Are we going to regret pushing this through so fast? Is this a ploy to box in the Governor who has his own plan (and Presidential dreams)?Why does my local Rep. need 3 years to study the racing/slot bill but can grasp the complexities of the health care bill in less than 4 weeks?My point; universal health care great idea, but let?s do it right. Speaker DiMasi should have had this out front and center as soon as Speaker Finneran left the building.
To be sure, the timing on this leaves a lot to be desired. But to paraphrase a certain high government official, we have to deal with the legislature we have, rather than the legislature we want or wish we had. Fact is, they’re doing this bill now. So if you want any say in how your rep votes, you have to act now. After the House is done, the Senate will pass Trav’s bill, and differences will be ironed out behind closed doors in a conference committee. At that point, it’s all over.
FYI,There were 147 amendments to the bill listed on the legislature’s web page.I didn’t notice the Speaker’s correction to the bill as any of the 147.Some of the provisions filed by Rep. Walrath, the committee chair, include delaying some of the new plans from January to June 2006 (makes sense, January would be too quick a turnaround). Also the UCP will be corrected from $160,000 to $160,000,000.One interesting variation was filed by Rep. Atkins to change the cutoff from 10 employees to $500,000 in payroll.
Sorry David I?m not buying it. To my untrained eye this not only looks like an attempt by the Speaker to get a seat at the table when this bill goes to the conference committee but as an attempt to frustrate Romney and tweak the Senate President. Unless of course the Speaker is carrying water for some unseen interest?
Great Scott! Are you suggesting that (gasp) politics might be at play here??Of course it is. Of course DiMasi is trying to out-progressive Trav, and to embarrass Romney. So what? Policy never happens without politics. But this is important policy, and you should want to be heard. Your rep certainly knows what the Chamber of Commerce thinks. Do you want those guys to be the only input he/she gets?
I hope all goes in favor of improving health care. It is unfortunate to hear so many lack health insurance. We really need to improve our health care system. Health insurance is a major aspect to many and we should help everyone get covered.
I agree health care is a huge problem and we really need to come up with a solution.