Massachusetts Not Guilty of Killing Health Care Reform

If health care reform dies, don’t blame it on Massachusetts.

The loss of a Democratic seat in the Senate makes the chances of reform moving forward that much more difficult and I, for one, am disappointed. The fact that it was the late Senator Kennedy’s seat, who spent much of his life fighting for health care for all — well, that really hurts.

To say that the vote in Massachusetts was a referendum on health care reform is overly simplistic. The people of Massachusetts have a many weighty issues on their minds — the economy as a whole, jobs, war, and taxes to name a few. Health care reform, while a work in progress in Massachusetts, is something they took seriously enough to act upon at the state level.

Massachusetts has taken on health care reform like no other state. Its residents are not without complaint about health care and health care costs, but with 97 percent of them covered, they have laid the important and difficult groundwork for a system of universal coverage.

In a press release from the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services just last October, Governor Deval Patrick (D) said, “Health care reform is working in Massachusetts. With more than 97 percent of our individuals and families enjoying the benefits of affordable, reliable coverage, we are leading the nation.”

The report, Health Insurance Coverage in Massachusetts, shows that only about 171,000 people did not have coverage at the time of the survey, which was conducted between March and June 2009. The study, which is required annually by the Legislature as part of the Chapter 58 health care reform law, shows that Massachusetts has continued to keep its uninsured rates steady at the lowest rate in the country.

Many voters in Massachusetts viewed both the House and the Senate versions of health care reform as something that would pile on burden to a state that has already achieved near-universal health care coverage, basically taking their tax dollars to fund the same type of program in other states.

For the anti-reform crowd to point to this election as evidence that voters don’t want health care reform is ludicrous. To those of us who want and desperately need health care reform — Massachusetts, we’re deeply disappointed, but we can hardly blame you.

Everybody will look for a scapegoat, but should health care reform die, there is more than enough blame to go around without pinning it on a single seat in a single election in a single state.

It is obvious that if any health care reform passes, it will be a far cry from the comprehensive overhaul that we need. For that, blame it on the Democrats’ lack of organization and conviction, apathy among those who currently have adequate health care, Republican fear tactics and anti-Obama agenda, the health insurance industry lobby, pandering to special interests, and poorly written bills to name but a few, but Massachusetts should not be labeled as the guilty party.

Anyway, it’s not dead yet — Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium Blogger, wrote an interesting piece about the process of moving reform forward following the Massachusetts election: Coakley’s Defeat: Can We Still Save Health Care Reform?

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Edward C.

3:58PM PST on Feb 7, 2010

Was in Massachusetts last week. Talked to a few MA voters, all Democratic voters they said. None had voted for Coakley because they saw that as voting to extend the Massachusetts plan to the rest of us.

send a green star

Mervi R.

7:49AM PST on Jan 29, 2010

Thanks for the info!

kimberly s.

8:54PM PST on Jan 27, 2010

Hopefully through this maze of what's right, what works, will be a health system that serves & supports the people...all people.

5:07PM PST on Jan 25, 2010

Jim Steve and others,
It was announced on CBS Evening news that a new poll shows that health care reform has slipped to eighth place in the list of importance of things Americans want Washington to concentrate on. #1 & #2 were jobs and the economy. A new Gallup poll released last Friday, shows that 55% of Americans want Washington to "suspend work on the health care bill and consider alternatives rather than trying to pass the current version". The poll also shows that "Seven in 10 Americans (72%) say Scott Brown’s surprise Senate win in Massachusetts reflects frustrations that many Americans share". The poll also showed that 65% of Americans now think that other more important issues like jobs, the economy and government spending should be addressed first, before health care reform.

Jim S.

3:03PM PST on Jan 25, 2010

Roger H......It is so refreshing to hear from someone that is actually researching the facts, instead of parroting misguided dogma sent to them by email from an advocacy source. Usually this advocacy source is funded by Corporate money. THANKS!

Elaine D.

2:30PM PST on Jan 25, 2010

good post

11:10AM PST on Jan 25, 2010

The current health care bills passed by the House and Senate have the support of only 35% of the people in the US According to recent polls. That is the same rating GWB had when he left office. MA was the first of many messages being sent to Washington that people are fed up with politicians that put the interests of large corporations and special interests, no matter which party they belong to, ahead of the needs of the People. The Republicans aren't the only ones sending this message. It is coming from Independents and Democrats too. The "changes we can believe in" are bipartisanship, transparency in government and an end to corruption and greed by members of both parties in Washington. If these things don't change, a lot of people form both parties in congress will be voted out of office in November and replaced with people that "get it". By poll after poll, a majority of people in the US consider themselves to be moderate to conservative in their beliefs. Polls also show that most people do not want more government intrusion in their lives. The new Jersey, Virginia and MA election results tried to send that message to Washington. The economy and jobs are the most important issues right now for the majority of Americans. If you can't find a job and pay the bills, health care reform goes to third on the list, with climate change even lower on the list.

8:01AM PST on Jan 25, 2010

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7:56AM PST on Jan 25, 2010

(cont.)
Most of Browns supporters were people that had voted for Obama in 2008. I wouldn't call them "the right". Over 20% of Democrat voters even voted for Brown. That shows how unpopular Coakley was in this election. If the Democrats would have come up with a candidate who was an outsider, whose campaign platform was to promote bipartisanship and transparency in Washington, whose campaign was financed by private donations, and was for responsible government spending and promoting job creation and improving the economy, they probably would have won the election. The Republicans had an Independent Republican candidate that MA Independents could support while the Democrats just promised more of the same old politics.

7:44AM PST on Jan 25, 2010

Susan W.,
Both Democrats and Republicans are equally guilty of greed and corruption in congress. If you don't believe it, just type in a congress member's last name and the word corruption in your search engine. Even trusted names like Pelosi, Feinstein, Frank, Rangle, etc. have pushed to get money for corrupt personal gain for either corporate buddies or family members. Also go to opensecret.org and see the stats on how much special interest and big corporate money BOTH Democrats and Republicans in congress have taken for their campaigns. Pelosi has gotten over $420,000 (much of it from health lobbyists), Reid has gotten millions from the gambling and casino industry and Wall Street bankers for his campaigns. The stats may surprise you. Democrats are just better at hiding their greed and corruption than Republicans, since they are using the tactic of putting their Republican counterparts under the microscope and placing all the blame on the last 8 years on them when the congressional votes in the past 8 years tell a different story. This kind of corruption and greed in congress is what the voters in MA want to get rid of. Coakley was another corrupted politician that was stupid enough to flaunt it in front of the cameras. Brown got his campaign support from private donations from a web based campaign funding drive. Do you actually believe that 12% of the voters in MA (Republicans) caused brown to get elected? 51% of the voters are Independents and were Obama supporters.