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…