Health Reform
Last Night on the Mass Pike
April 12, 2006 marked a historic day not only for the people of Massachusetts but also for state and federal policymakers and the national populous as a whole. On the aforementioned date, Mitt Romney, then governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, signed into law the Massachusetts Health Reform Bill. According to John Holahan, director of the Health Policy Center, Urban Institute, in Washington D.C., “the essence of the legislation is a mandate that everyone in the state have health insurance if affordable coverage is available.” (2006) On April 12, 2006 Massachusetts had passed a milestone on a very ambitious and hereto unprecedented journey to provide health insurance to virtually all of its constituents.
Massachusetts makes a logical proving ground for progressive health reform initiatives to be tested. For the better half of the last century, the state has been represented by Sen. Ted Kennedy who has been and continues to be a longtime champion for health reform. His consistent validation at the polls every six years makes it no surprise that 92 percent of the generally population in Massachusetts believes that health care is a right. (Blendon, 2008). However, it would be a mistake to consider the passage of legislation of this nature to be a slam dunk for policy makers and advocates- as history shows it was not. Many consider advocating for universal health care to be analogous with the democrat party policy and platform, but as many may recall from the 2008 presidential elections, Mitt Romney is a republican. Interestingly the federal government by threatening to reduce the amount of funding it was providing to Massachusetts for an expanded Medicaid program and the imminent…
Health Finance Reform - The Missing Link
Throughout his campaign and subsequently during the initial period of his term, President Obama has made taking action in health policy reform a priority for his administration. In his most recent weekly Presidential address he again stressed the necessity for paying attention to healthcare and promised the imminency of congressional action. (Obama, 2009) There exists extensive research and statistical reporting indicating President Obama’s analysis of necessity for reform is spot on. Furthermore, Gallup indicates that the political climate for making wide reaching health reform is ripe; reporting over 55% of Americans surveyed listing ‘access’ and ‘cost’ to be the most urgent health problems facing the nation. (Jones, 2008) For reasons unknown, the national media has not fully shared the juxtaposition of health care reform with economic and foreign relations issues. In light of this it should not be surprising that information concerning specific measures for reform has generally been absent from the public forum and thus those who are unwilling or unable to research more deeply.
Perhaps due to the complexity or innocuous nature of the topic at hand, legislatures at the state level, with exception, seem no better equipped than their brethren at the federal level. In response, The National Conference of State Legislatures has compiled a list of suggested or previously enacted health reform measures in an attempt to provide an information source for the consideration of their members. (”Health Care Cost Containment,” 2003). It should be noted that this list was compiled several years ago prior to the effects of newer policies set forth in The Medicare Modernization Act and thus is limited in scope; however, it still serves as the most recent…
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