Well it looks like Travaglini has given up on any chance of reforming the Massachusetts health care system. Today’s Globe confirms that Trav has decided to throw in the towel as he plans to “scale down significantly the comprehensive package that is before us” in order to secure federal funding and cover far fewer people than initially hoped for…… Frankly, Trav never had a comprehensive plan to begin with.
It was Trav, who early last year proclaimed very publicly and to much media attention that he would offer a plan to insure half of the uninsured in Massachusetts. He and the Governor then filed bills in short order as Beacon Hill waited not so patiently as the new Speaker organized his House, and crafted his own measure……Everyone waited as spring turned to summer then became fall. Finally, DiMasi unveiled his plan, which became the most ambitious of the three. It seems that DiMasi stole the show with his blockbuster health plan.
Now, after months of delay we end up with Trav developing a stripped down plan designed to secure the fed money and as a result insure far less people than was hoped for….Trav and his staff don’t have to work that hard this weekend crafting a new bill, just dust off the original Senate plan in the Conference Committee and resubmit it.
Basically the Senate plan covered very few of the nearly half million of the uninsured but did supply more money to hospitals for treating the uninsured. But the intent of the reform was to insure people, not to continue the practice of paying for the uninsured with only more taxpayer money.
That leaves the Speaker, who by all reports has been awaiting word on his numerous compromises and who seemed to still hold out hope for a breakthrough even in the midst of last week’s very public spat. If it takes two to tango in conference, and Trav has stated that his conferees on the committee will stop working, what is DiMasi to do?
For all the talk that it was DiMasi holding this up by unwillingness to compromise it seems that Trav is the one who when time came for the tough decisions he threw in the towel. He really had nothing to lose…..well, accept maybe his credibility.
It seems that Trav has dumped his friend DiMasi big time and more sadly has dumped the thousands of uninsured in Massachusetts. Looks like budget is going to be fun!!!!!
Hard to see through what is actually happening here. Is Trav so bent on not giving Romney credit? Or is it more his spat with DiMasi? I did want to see something happen – and I do believe some wort of employer mandate is imporant.