Send a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper to tell neighbors and voters in your community about the harmful flaws in the new health law and about the continuing need for a permanent legal right to affordable healthcare for all, and how others can support this work. Use this easy tool to submit a letter to your local paper/s (All state newspapers are listed by town.  You will require Excel-type software to use this; go to OpenOffice to download this software if needed.)

2006-07 Healthcare Legislation & Campaigns

Info & Analysis below - see homepage for Events

Flawed MA Legislation, Chapter 58, is signed into law on 4/12/06; Useful Policy Critiques:

1.    Federation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights

4/06:Bill's good and bad elements ; 4/07:Promise of Universal Healthcare Forgotten

2.    Citizen Action of New York

If wishes were horses...

3.    Physicians for a National Health Program

False promise of universal coverage

4.   Community Catalyst

What is does, how it was done, challenges ahead

News articles by Alice Dembner on implementation of the MA plan:

12/23/07 Firms find ways around state health law

12/14/07 Mass. panel approves changes to subsidized residents health plan

Read more Dembner articles on the MA plan and how it's going

Additional Info:

Private insurance card, huge deductable? No way. July 2007, by Henry Kahn, MD

One-page excerpt from New England Journal of Medicine overviews MA Reform Plan

Implementation Timeline and Activities for Chap. 58 MA Health Reform Legislation.  See related state HHS documents here.

On 4/12/06, Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, the MA Health Reform Legislation, was signed into law with 8 sections vetoed by the Gov.

Mass-Care issues Press Release and How Bill Affects You

Economic Policy Analysis Durable healthcare for all requires cost control

Health Care For All's Chapter 58 website for facts on the legislation and its programs

Full language of the 2006 ACT! Campaign bill, written by Health Care For All (HCFA)

Full language of the 2006 Mass. Health Care Trust bill supported by the Alliance, HCFA and over 90 other statewide organizations who are the Mass-Care coalition.

Hundreds of Mass. Physicians send Open Letter to Gov. Romney, Speaker DiMasi and President Traviglini critiquing current legislation.

Reform Updates, Analyses and Articles:

Health Care Amendment supporters let down as the law is broken by 101 legislators on Jan. 2, 2007.  Campaign leaders and supporting organizations vow to continue good faith efforts to secure the health reform goals set out in the Amendment.

Chapter 58 Media Coverage:

Boston Globe Editorial 5/15/07 Item #2 on healthcare agenda

Boston Globe 4/12/07 Health plan may exempt 20% of the uninsured

New York Times 4/12/07 Massachusetts Offers Details on Health Coverage

Boston Globe 9/13/06 Unrealistic health plan

The Nation 9/18/06 No Rx in Massachusetts

State House News Service 9/13 Schwarzenegger veto called a warning for Mass.

Older coverage that remains very useful:

Boston Globe 4/5 Lobbyists took in $7.5M on Health Bill, 4/6 Amid cheers, fears about funding abound, 4/8 Limited Options and Can Mass. plan go national?, and 4/17 Healthcare plan needs dose of common sense

New Standard News 4/12: Critics blow holes in health plan

Washington Post 4/5  State set to use auto insurance as model

NPR Commentary 3/20 Conceiving an elephant but giving birth to a mouse: the incredible vanishing push for universal health insurance in Massachusetts.

Health executives emerge as state's new power players Globe article 3/13/06

Herald Op-Ed 1/1/06 on stakeholder interests influencing state healthcare reform.

Feb 22 Article--Hidden dangers of low-cost health insurance

Globe Op-Ed Nov. 5,"Healthcare Myths, Realities" for an invaluable perspective on the major health reform legislation just passed by the House.

Paul Krugman's NYT's Op-Ed's on U.S. healthcare, "Health Economics 101" and the need for a universal social insurance program

Cape Cod Times Nov. 11, "Critics: Health Proposals downplay cost of care" " ...''The big thing is, none of the bills do anything serious to contain costs,'' said Alan Sager, co-director of the Health Reform program at the Boston University School of Public Health. ..." 

For background read our own May 05 article that analyzes, compares and contrasts the 4 legislative plans to expand health insurance coverage in Mass.