I was struck by the absurdity of this column by Hillary Chabot of the Boston Herald, published earlier this week (“In Mass., loyalty to Obamacare is no kryptonite”). In it, Chabot rips into Don Berwick while also noting his momentum in the Massachusetts Governor’s race. In her lede, she complains, “Obamacare was supposed to be Democratic kryptonite in 2014 — but leave it to Bay State progressives to take a nationally embattled plan and somehow transform an unknown Democrat into a health care Superman.” She oddly describes Berwick as having a “fanatical Obamacare loyalty coupled with [a] desire to go even further by introducing a single-payer health care system.” And she even reveals a bit of umbrage, asserting that, “Berwick chided the Herald’s Morning Meeting hosts for asking ‘the wrong question’ when we pressed him on the website failures and Obama’s now-infamous ‘if you like your doctor’ vow.”
It’s all the sort of predictable, tabloid criticism you’d expect from the folks at The Herald. But to his credit, Berwick embraced the critical coverage–even linking to it on Twitter: “Earning the same progressive support that [Elizabeth Warren] did? Now that’s good company!” (I’m sure he recognizes the correlation: as he wins hearts and minds with his progressive ideas, there will also be an increase in withering criticism from The Herald. That’s just how it goes. It means he’s doing well.) Nevertheless–and keeping with the Superman theme, here–I couldn’t help but feel like I was in Bizarro World when I read this. I mean, it’s quite literally a logical impossibility that Berwick would have both, as she describes it, “a fanatical Obamacare loyalty” and also a desire to implement an entirely different health care system. That just doesn’t make any sense. And likewise, it’s ridiculous to suggest that Berwick should have to answer for a clumsy Obama talking point or screwed up websites. He is already on the record, regarding both the successes he actually took a direct part in as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the early implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the parts of ACA he’d like to see changed. Everyone, including the folks from the Herald, can read his take here.
A single-payer system–the one that Berwick actually supports–would streamline the ACA’s bureaucratic messiness, cut costs (as opposed to hoping to bend down the cost curve), and ensure that health care is, indeed, an affordable right for all. It’s a bold plan, one that aims to substantially improve the status quo, and it’s just one reason why I and many other progressives support his candidacy.
BMG member Jamie Eldridge’s very own “Medicare For All” bill was sent where bills go to die.
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/188/Senate/S515
Section 1: The foundation for a productive and healthy Massachusetts is a health care system that provides equal access to quality health care for all its residents. Massachusetts spends more on health care per capita than any most states or any other country in the world, causing undue hardship for the state, municipalities, businesses, and residents, but without achieving universal access to quality health care. Medicare for All will allow us to achieve and sustain the three main pillars of a just, efficient health care system: (a) cost control and affordability, (b) universal equitable access, and (c) high quality medical care.
Referred to committee six months ago, without a whimper from Don Berwick, without notice from BMG. The election is months away, this bill is already out there. Where’s the support?
Not really sure a lame duck legislature and governor are going to have the political will to push through something like this. If we get some new statewides that support single payer and have some political capital to burn, it would be much more likely.
An initiative like this one requires leadership from the top. It will not happen until there’s a Governor who really wants it.
…isn’t the time to do precisely when they are lame ducks? Some won’t face the voters again and others will, but not for another couple of years.
It was a big accomplishment, last session, when grassroots pressure got an unexpected 15 Senators to sign on to Sen Eldridge’s Single Payer amendment–which was ‘only’ to enact single payer *IF* a study found it effective.
(Yes voters included Will Brownsberger who originally said he wouldn’t support it: grassroots pressure switched his vote.)
At the link, Sen. Eldridge credits grassroots for the win (remember, “Win” = getting 15 Democrats to vote YES):
We need leadership INSIDE the building, in the corner office –and OUTSIDE the building, with grassroots advocacy. It’s a long road, but a staunch, unapologetic and extraordinarily qualified Governor really could take us there.
…waiting until after November and do it in a lame duck session.
And leadership doesn’t want single payer. The bill is resigned to study by the relevant committee. Note that the single-payer “win” (15 Yes votes, but not passed) was submitted as an Amendment. I guess I’m saying, don’t rely on the bravery of legislators to defy leadership. While we have great legislators like Sen Eldridge who keep trying and keep inching the ball down the field, we’ve seen pretty routinely that this is slow work.
That will to defy and take leadership in defiance of Leadership isn’t something that’s going to come from within the legislators, as a group. It’s got to come from external forces (a strong governor, grassroots)
Starting with the insurers. So, naturally, they don’t like it, even though it obviously would be much better for the people of the Commonwealth and the country as a whole. That’s why single payer was kicked to the curb by Obama as soon as he got elected, also.
Single payer is actually in the Mass Dems 2013 platform, interestingly enough: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/18/1300139/-The-MA-Dems-Platform-Endorses-Single-Payer-but-Only-One-MA-GOV-Candidate-Wants-to-Make-It-Happen. If only they actually lived up to it.
Sen. Eldridge’s bill’s fate has been clear. That’s not the field of battle right now.
And Senator Eldridge, one of the very few principled progressives who doesn’t shy away from arguing for our values (and in so doing, ever so slightly, every day, resists our political move further center-right), has not only endorsed Don Berwick, he has been out and loud for him.
If we want Medicare for All, we need Jamie Eldridge, and we need Don Berwick. And we need more fellow Democrats to not just remember our values and vision, but to FIGHT for them.