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Massachusetts’ election of Scott Brown to the Senate has resulted in the ill-founded meme that Massachusetts voters don’t want national health care reform. The reality is that Bay Staters with real experience with Massachusetts’ comprehensive health care system firmly back the passage of the health care reform bill now before Congress.
Massachusetts Patients, Doctors, Small Businesses and Scott Brown Supporters Call for National Health Care Reform in New VideoBOSTON – Massachusetts patients, doctors, representatives of small business and labor, supporters of Senator Scott Brown, students and consumer advocates come together and talk about why Americans need national health reform in a new video being released today.
Their emotional and personal stories convey why Massachusetts residents, who pioneered state health care reform, believe so fervently in national health care reform. They have seen how well it works in their own state, and how national reform would further strengthen efforts at the state level while benefiting all Americans. They have seen how Massachusetts health care reform has opened access to affordable care for hundreds of thousands of residents. They see how national health reform will help small businesses cover the health care costs of their employees and control the costs of health care nationwide.
In this video a diverse group of individuals, with a myriad of interests and goals, have come together and coalesced around the one goal of urging Congress to pass national health reform. They believe, as most Americans do, that we’ve come too far to turn back now, and that all Americans deserve access to a health care system as good as theirs. According to the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, 63% percent of Americans want Congress to pass national health reform.
The many people interviewed in this video provide testimony to the success of Massachusetts health reform and the importance of national reform for the entire country: Dr. Gary Gottlieb, President and CEO of Partners HealthCare system; Amy Whitcomb Slemmer, Executive Director of Health Care For All; Maria Velazquez, health care consumer; Jonah Pesner, Leader of Greater Boston Interfaith Organization; Lisa Renee Holderby, community health worker; Travis Howlette, student; Dr, Jack Evjy, Past President of Massachusetts Medical Society; Celia Wcislo, 1199SEIU Vice President; Dr. Rebecca Burch, Boston Medical Center; Dr. Bob Master, President and CEO of Commonwealth Care Alliance; Kristen McCosh, consumer and advocate for the Boston Center for Independent Living; and Maria Schiff, Director Commonwealth Care, Network Health.
With the country on the cusp of historical change, Congress needs to pass national health reform now. It doesn’t have to be business as usual in Washington.
2 Comments
Thoughts from Mass…I’m from Massachusetts and I don’t see that this is anything more than another video from a pressure group.
As to what has really happened here, more people have insurance, but far from universal coverage. And as to the claim above that our reform helps to control costs, that is simply inaccurate. Our reform has done nothing to affect the costs which continue to bankrupt our government, our businesses, and our families.
Do I want Obama’s health reform to pass? Honestly, I don’t know. It will help a lot of people to get insurance and doubtlessly save a significant portion of the people in the US who die for lack of insurance. But it won’t save them all because it’s not real reform. It will do little to affect the expense of care, it doesn’t sever the horrific connection between employment and care, and I fear it will create a false victory that will simply give politicians an excuse to delay getting real health reform.
A very different perspective from MA (& some Scott Brown news)Does the video include some health care professionals from Massachusetts who worked on our original state-based health reform? Of course.
If they don’t speak up, the stage is left to former Gov. Romney, who has been on Fox saying that what he was part of doing here is not at all like what is being discussed in DC. (Nonsense. It’s much the same).
If they don’t speak up. the stage is left to the newly-elected Sen. Scott Brown (R), who told the media yesterday — and every Democrat seeking re-election in November — that he was sent to DC as “a message from Massachusetts about health reform.” Read below. I don’t think you want to leave the stage to him and the GOP, which has been relentless with this idea since late January.
http://mobile.boston.com/news/…
Is health reform, as it may pass nationally, perfect? No way. It’s a start. When Social Security was first enacted, it excluded jobs typically done by women and people of color back in those fun days (because who would ever let them do anything else?) If you worked as a domestic, laundered other people’s stuff, worked in a hotel — you get the idea — you couldn’t participate in Social Security. For some years thereafter, the program was amended multiple times, to fix small problems as well as really big embarrassments.
Social Security was born as an income security program for white guys. I try to remember that when I see the many flaws in the health insurance reform plans that are trying to squeak through now in DC. It’s a start. We’ll fix it up.