Yesterday was an important day for health care reform. In an event pulled together by Health Care for All, Governor Patrick, Speaker DiMasi, and Senate President Murray joined with representatives of the business, advocacy, provider and insurer communities to celebrate health care reform’s second birthday. What we have accomplished to date was underscored by compelling comments from Madelyn Rhenisch and Danielle Nickerson – two of the tens of thousands of people for whom the availability of health insurance through Commonwealth Care has meant better health, improved economic security and greater peace of mind.
It was also an important day for health care reform, because – as we celebrated two years of success – we also continued paving the path forward. The Connector’s Board finalized some of the key foundations for continuing to implement health care reform. It approved an affordability schedule to guide enforcement of the individual mandate in 2008. And it also voted to get updated Commonwealth Care and Commonwealth Choice programs up and running for July 1st of this year.
None of these were “easy” projects to accomplish. Connector staff has worked tirelessly – and the Board has engaged in thoughtful, constructive debate – on all of them. I know that the Connector Board and staff also value our continuing partnership with insurers who participate in Connector programs, as well as the counsel of advocacy, business, provider and other organizations.
It was well-recognized during yesterday’s celebration that health care reform faces many challenges moving forward – first and foremost cost and fiscal challenges. As Governor Patrick indicated yesterday, the spirit of innovation, boldness, and shared responsibility that brought us health reform is now needed to sustain health reform. A conversation to that effect has begun on this blog and elsewhere, and will continue in earnest over the coming months.
As I was thinking about how that conversation will proceed, I looked back at my CommonHealth blogs to date and saw that I actually blogged a year ago, immediately following the first birthday of health care reform. And that blog likewise began, “Yesterday was an important day for health care reform in Massachusetts.” I was referring to the fact that the Connector had just voted unanimously to approve the first state affordability schedule for implementing the individual mandate (i.e., the one that is in effect for tax year 2007).
I was amazed at the time that this actually garnered a unanimous vote. This was a hotly contested issue with divergent, strongly held views from all quarters. To be honest, I could have seen health care reform coming apart at that moment. Instead, it came together in that unanimous vote – because the many people and interests who helped launch health reform in the first place were willing to listen to one another, compromise, and take risks to keep this initiative moving forward.
I continue to be heartened by that moment – and, on its account, hopeful about our collective capacity to work through difficult cost challenges in order to sustain health care reform. One thing is for sure: I can’t wait to see what I’ll be able to write on health care reform’s third birthday!
Leslie Kirwan
Administration and Finance Secretary for Governor Deval Patrick
Secretary Kirwin,
The mandate will still cause this scheme to implode. It is only a matter of time. With the economy in shambles and healthcare spending poised to become 20% of GDP in the next decade, at some point the burden of the mandate will become too onerous for people to bear. The already growing political backlash will be awe inspiring. Perhaps then we can stop this ineffective social tinkering and institute the kind of radical reforms that are actually needed to control costs and ensure access.
Ms. Kirwan,
Get over yourself.
May I remind you that there are at least 300,000 people who are being hurt by this punitive and wasteful law. So please tell me: is it a success if people are being hurt? Are you “heartened” by this?
We never gave our consent to be part of your experiment so using us in this manner is a deliberate crime.
Ron Norton is correct when he says there is growing political backlash. There’s more than that. There is also pure, unadulterated anger out here in the trenches and it’s growing by the day.
“Let them eat cake” was real loser. Ch. 58 is no better.
What I see here is that there is debate about this issue. at least it’s being discussed and negotiated, the ideal solution may not be this reform, but at least the issue sits in the spotlight. That is positive.
Leslie Kirwan, You really need to make health insurance affordable for people age 50 – 64 by having lower premiums and including the real cost of health care-premiums, deductibles, co-payments and other cost-sharing when figuring out what people can afford. A person who has rent of $700 a month and receives $1000 from SSA can not pay $500 a month on insurance. Please help.
Dear Ms. Kirwan,
I am a physician who cares for many underserved patients in Boston, and I have to say that on the whole, there is little for you to be self-congratulatory about at this point. Many poor and underserved still have no coverage, and many others have been forced into plans which they cannot afford and which provide little service or benefits in return for their healthcare dollars.
Your brand of “health care reform” has been a short term political success and a financial success for insurance companies, but falls short of what any provider or patient would consider true reform, or even resaonable care. The archetects of your plan are a who’s who of insurance industry insiders and special interests, none of whom have a feduciary responsibility to actual patients, and some of whom have profitted handsomely from denying or limiting care.
Now, despite having thousands of “newly insured” citizens, hospital resources have been cut to the bone, health care delivery is critically impaired in Western Massachusetts, and citizens can’t afford the plans, co-pays, and deductables they’ve been forced into.
If that wasn’t tragic enough, many outside the Commonwealth consider your 97% insurance rate as the only metric of success, and are likely to try to emulate this anemic, deeply troubled plan in their own state, or even worse, nationally.
In short, thanks for nothing. I will be interested to see what you think when your plan turns 3 later this year.