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June 2, 2005
Religious groups rally support for expanded health coverage
Jeremy Schwab
Bearing signs proclaiming their membership in their
respective churches or synagogues, over 1,000 members of the Greater
Boston Interfaith Organization converged on Temple Israel in Roxbury
one evening last week for a raucous rally to show support for
the Health Access and Affordability Act, which supporters say
would bring health coverage to most Massachusetts residents currently
without it.
Ministers, rabbis and elected officials who support the bill exhorted
the crowd to support the joint campaign launched by Health Care
for All and supported by GBIO, labor unions including the Service
Employees International Union, medical providers, health care
advocates and business leaders pushing for passage of the bill.
“Here we are in one of the richest cities in one of the
richest countries in the history of planet Earth, right under
the shadows of the institutions with some of the best health care
on Earth,” said lead House sponsor Rep. Deborah Blumer.
“We need to make sure people who are uninsured are covered.
The bill, which has at least 17 Senate and 56 House co-sponsors,
is one of three major pieces of legislation that have been proposed
to deal with the health care crisis in the state.
The other proposals come from Senate President Robert Travaglini
and Governor Mitt Romney, and neither appear to go as far as the
Health Access and Affordability Act in expanding coverage. Supporters
at GBIO plan to collect the 40,000 signatures required to put
the act on the ballot in 2006 so that voters as well as elected
officials will have a chance to push it forward.
But Health Care for All Executive Director John McDonough indicated
that the decision whether to go the ballot referendum route or
not has not yet been made.
“We expect something significant to pass in the Legislature,”
he told the Banner. “All three proposals are in process
and none of those three will pass intact. The question will be
how far will [the Legislature] go. And then the question will
be whether or not we should go collectively to the ballot. We
won’t know for 12 months.”
The Health Access and Affordability Act would expand MassHealth
coverage to parents and individuals making less than 200 percent
of the federal poverty line, or roughly $39,000 for a family of
four, up from the current threshold of 133 percent, or roughly
$25,000 for a family of four. Children whose parents earn less
than 300 percent of poverty level, or $57,000 for a family of
four, would also be covered.
Thousands of legal immigrants cut from MassHealth in 2003 would
also be reinstated and a subsidy would be added for families earning
too much to qualify for MassHealth. All but the smallest businesses
would be required to cover their workers.
Those paying for individual coverage would also be able to join
large group coverage plans, thus reducing their premiums.
The bill would be paid for with initiatives including an additional
50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes, federal Medicaid matching
funds, employer contributions, savings from the free-care pool
because, supposedly, fewer people would need free care and “if
necessary, other revenue sources,” according to a GBIO press
release.
Romney has said his plan, which is still being formed and is expected
to be filed this summer, would require no additional revenue sources.
Romney’s plan would create a new insurance product called
Commonwealth Care, overseen by a board appointed by the governor,
which would provide coverage at lower cost and could be purchased
by individuals and small businesses.
“It can be done within the existing Health and Human Services
budget he has planned,” said spokesman Felix Brown.
Romney’s plan would convert the uncompensated care pool
that currently pays for care for those without insurance into
a Safety Net Care managed care program, which would reportedly
provide insurance to individuals and families who do not qualify
for Medicaid and earn less than 300 percent of the federal poverty
line.
Travaglini’s plan would require new revenues, including
$60 million in increased federal reimbursements, an additional
$93 million in state revenues and fees from employers with over
50 employees for each employee not offered insurance, according
to a GBIO comparison of the three plans.
Travaglini’s plan would create a re-insurance program taking
the most expensive cases out of the individual and small group
market and, like Romney’s proposal, would allow the creation
of stripped-down health insurance products that could be purchased
more cheaply, according to the GBIO.
Spokespeople in Travaglini and Romney’s offices could not
be reached for comment before the Banner’s press deadline.
Whichever plan or combination of plans is finally adopted, the
rising cost of health coverage is pinching many Massachusetts
residents’ pockets, causing many to look to the government
for solutions.
Jamaica Plain resident Elise Dwortzan was one of those pressuring
the government to come up with solutions by attending the GBIO
rally. She is a stay-at-home mother with a 14-month-old daughter,
and she and her husband, who is self-employed, pay around $9,000
a year for a family insurance policy, she said.
“I think it is unfair that someone who chooses to be self-employed
should have to pay a phenomenal amount for benefits,” said
Dwortzan.
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