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June 2, 2005

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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