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CommonHealth Newsletter - Fall 2006
1. CommonHealth Volume 2, Number 3 ~ Fall 2006
Universal Health Care Education Fund
New “Universal“ Health Bill Raises False Hopes
Massachusetts Heath Care Trust Bill Being Refiled
Even as MASS-CARE members strive to monitor, critique Without fundamental
and demythologize Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, we structural reforms, to cut
work to sharpen our single-payer, universal healthcare bill, bureaucratic overhead and
the Massachusetts Health Care Trust, achieve cost savings, each
for submission to the new legislative and every one proved
session which begins in January. Our unsustainable.
Legislative Committee has been meeting (Pictured: Jane Hamill, Barbara
with our lead sponsors, Senator Steve Ackermann, Ben Day and John
Healey)
Tolman and Representative Frank
Hynes, as well as many other legislators
and activists from across the state. In June, the MASS-CARE Coordinating Committee voted
MASS-CARE’s Legislative Committee, to endorse the initiative to amend the Massachusetts
working hand- constitution to make access to comprehensive, affordable
in-hand with our Coordinating health insurance a right of all who reside here. Despite a
Committee, is in the final stages passionate and clear-headed floor fight led by Senator
of updating our bill. Steve Tolman, this citizens’ initiative was sent to a study
(Pictured: Ann Eldridge Malone, Alliance committee which has never met. But the fight goes on,
to Defend Health Care, and Susanne with the Constitutional Convention due back in session at
King, Berkshire MASS-CARE) 2 PM on January 2nd.
Our executive director Benjamin Day has created a
powerpoint presentation analyzing Chapter 58 and
comparing it to all prior state-based incremental reform
efforts, such as Hawai’i’s and Oregon’s. On enactment,
each plan was hailed as “universal,” each resulted in a
sharp drop in the number of uninsured initially, and each
failed to maintain that progress in subsequent years.
Sen. Steve Tolman addresses a State House rally for the healthcare
amendment in May. (State House News Service photo)
Click on our web site to view or download
our Chapter 58 powerpoint presentation.
Contact us to make arrangements for
Members of the Legislative Committee strategize with Rep. Frank a showing in your community.
Hynes: Vic Bloomberg, Judy Deutsch, Sandy Eaton, Ben Day, Leo
Stolbach, Rep. Hynes and Pat Downs Berger.
2. 2006 Ben Gill Gala
Braving monsoon-like weather, single-payer supporters
came from across Massachusetts to the Dante Alighieri Executive director Benjamin Day
Cultural Center in Cambridge on May 13th for the MASS- watches as Arky Markham models
her new single-payer cap. Arky,
CARE/UHCEF annual Dr. Benjamin Gill Awards Dinner.
ninety years old at the time,
continues her lifelong commitment
Richard Sherman shared to peace and justice in the Pioneer
personal insights and humorous Valley, on the state level and
moments from the life and times globally.
of Ben Gill, a retired psychiatrist
who steadfastly championed
fundamental healthcare reform
through MASS-CARE and in the
formative period of the Ad Hoc Rand Wilson, co-chair at the time of the Jobs with
Committee to Defend Health Justice Health Care Action Committee, and Diane Dujon
Care, now the Alliance to Defend
of the UMass Boston School of Public Service were our
Health Care.
keynote speakers, helping us appreciate the connections
involved in our work.
Peggy O’Malley, MASS-CARE chair emerita, and Alan
Sager and Debbie Socolar from the BU School of Public
Award presenters were Barbara Ackermann, Steffi
Health’s Access and Affordability Project received
Woolhandler and Sandy Eaton. Joseph Lillyman assembled
awards this year for their years of dedicated service,
once again his talented quartet. Food was catered by the
combining theory and practice, in the fight for a just
renowned S&S diner. But the special treat was the
healthcare system. A special surprise award was bestowed
camaraderie of shared experiences in the struggle by all
on Katie Murphy, former chair of the Framingham Board
present.
of Selectmen, for her valiant fight for health access and
adequate services for all in our community. (Alan Sager
John Horgan of IBEW 2222 and
was unable to attend due to a very important prior Jobs with Justice confers with
commitment.) Kathleen Bridgewater of the
Hampshire-Franklin Health Care
The Massachusetts Nurses Coalition and Amherst League of
Association was well Women Voters. Both are active
represented by Donna Kelly- with Healthcare-NOW! -
Williams, VP, Roz Feldberg, building support for
staff researcher, and Representative John Conyers’
president Beth Piknick. Medicare for All bill, HR.676.
Rand Wilson, Working Families Party
candidate for State Auditor, and Jill
Stein, Green-Rainbow Party candidate
for Secretary of State, brought
enthusiastic bipartisan support to our
single-payer celebration.
Save the date! 2007 Ben Gill Gala
Ryles Jazz Club, Cambridge
Saturday, March 24, 2-4 PM
Speakers and awardees: Debbie Socolar, Katie Murphy, Peggy Robert Kuttner, keynote
O’Malley, Rand Wilson, Steffi Woolhandler and Diane Dujon.
3. National Campaigns: HR.676 & HR.5864
On October 21st, a broad coalition led by Jon Weisman of Ajamu Sankofa came to the
the National Association of Letter Carriers and Western Holyoke hearing representing
Healthcare-NOW! - the national
Massachusetts Jobs with Justice came together at
movement dedicated to pushing
Holyoke Community College for a Congressional hearing on Medicare for All until victory.
the healthcare crisis and to promote HR.676, the Information on this campaign may
Medicare for All bill with lead sponsors John Conyers, be obtained from its web site:
Dennis Kucinich, Jim McDermott and Donna Christensen. http://www.healthcare-now.org.
US Representative John Olver presided. Former The United States National Health Insurance Act
Northampton mayor Mary Ford moderated. Three panels establishes an American-style national insurance program.
of presenters led off, one each on access, affordability The bill would create a publicly-financed, privately-
and quality. Ample time was allowed for taking testimony delivered health care program that uses the already
from those in attendance as well. existing Medicare program by expanding and improving it
to all US residents and all residents living in US
territories. The goal of the legislation is to ensure that all
Americans will have access, guaranteed by law, to the
highest quality and cost-effective healthcare services
regardless of one’s employment, income, or health care
status.
A parallel development is the introduction of HR.5864,
the Health Partnership Through Creative Federalism Act,
described by its author, Representative Tammy Baldwin
Bob Lawson, Massachusetts Senior Action Council treasurer, Patricia (D-WI), as “a serious, bipartisan effort to break the
Healey, MNA Region 1 president, and moderator Mary Ford logjam in Congress and develop plans to ensure health care
coverage for all.” Co-sponsors include Representative Tom
Lively discussions marked this event, with several Price (R-GA), Representative John Tierney (D-MA) and
participants coming to the mike to offer their Representative Bob Beauprez (R-CO). “We believe the
experiences with health care in other countries, where federal government should be helping the states as they
health care is considered a right and not a commodity. try new approaches, not hindering them. ... Our plan would
allow the potential for freedom from certain federal
Frank Olbris, chair of the Franklin-Hampshire regulations and authorizes grants to individual states, or
Health Care Coalition, offers testimony in groups or portions of states, to enact the strategy best
Holyoke.
suited for them to ensure greater health insurance
coverage.”
HR.676 now has a total of seventy-
eight congressional sponsors. Two
Maybe Massachusetts activists will set a goal of getting
hundred and twelve union organizations
our delegation on board with this one.
have passed resolutions of support,
including fifty-three Central Labor
Councils and Area Labor Federations
and seventeen state AFL-CIOs (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND,
WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO and MN).
Grassroots pressure for change is mounting.
All of Massachusetts’ representatives in Congress have
signed on to this critical piece of legislation except Ed
Markey, who supports an alternate version proposed by
Senator Ted Kennedy, and Richard Neal. We still have our
work cut out for us in Massachusetts.
4. Cape Care and presented single payer as the only way to go. Mel King
spoke, linking our struggle to a broader context, pointing
MASS-CARE’s August statewide meeting took place in the out the health needs of poorer communities, such as the
Provincetown Public Library. Folks came from near and one targeted for the BU bioterror lab.
far, by boat and car, to discuss the amazing grassroots
upsurge called Cape Care, an attempt to craft a universal, Marcia Angell, editor emerita of
the New England Journal of
single-payer system in a single county. The overwhelming
Medicine, Carlos Da Silva of the
majority of towns on the Cape have endorsed this Massachusetts Association of
approach, either through town meeting or town council, Portuguese Speakers and
with discussion now centered on the county government. MASS-CARE executive
Since then, the Cape Care Coalition has voted to join director Ben Day participate in
the discussions.
MASS-CARE, and of course MASS-CARE has agreed. To
find out more about Cape Care as it evolves, go to its web
Mel cited Alice Walker quoting Albert Einstein on the
site http://www.capecare.info.
inability of those who created a crisis to solve it. Arnold
Relman countered with the point that physicians, with the
power to spend large sums of money, both contribute to
the problem and need to be called upon to help solve it.
Mel quietly observed that he was only quoting Einstein.
Mel, the only African-American in the room, also observed
that the composition of our movement does not include a
lot of the folks most severely impacted by poor health
care.
Ben was called upon to present the print version of his
powerful powerpoint presentation. He graciously skipped
through most of them, stopping to highlight some
especially useful information. This material is dynamite,
and puts all our arguments into a solid context. No one
Provincetown participants: Brian O’Malley, Ben Day, Pat Downs seemed in a great hurry to leave!
Berger, Joseph Lillyman, Frank Olbris, Vic Bloomberg and Cynthia
Franklin.
Arnold Relman, Leo Stolbach,
Jackie Wolf and Jerome
MASS-CARE Advisory Board Reinvigorated Grossman follow Ben Day’s
presentation of the Chapter 58
Shortly after the MASS-CARE coalition came together, powerpoint text.
its leaders created a group of knowledgeable people they
could turn to as they sought to guide the health care trust
bill through the shoals of the legislative process. Although
a few individuals were regularly tapped for help, this
Advisory Board remained underutilized until recently. (Photos by CommonHealth editor Sandy Eaton unless otherwise noted.)
From a list of nineteen prominent names on paper, this
body has grown in recent weeks to several score
individuals, some of whom were on the original list, but
most of whom were found more recently to be eager to Universal Health Care Education Fund (UHCEF)
participate in our work, bringing their expertise and c/o MASS-CARE
reputations to bear on the building of our movement. 8 Beacon Street, Suite 26
Boston, MA 02108
The first gathering of this body took place on November P: 617-723-7001
29th in the historic Amy Lowell House in Brookline, where F: 617-723-7002
twenty five people from across the Commonwealth info@masscare.org
assembled. After a lengthy round of self-introductions, www.masscare.org
Marcia Angell exposed the business model of health care