Massachusetts lawmakers will hear a proposal today for a constitutional amendment requiring universal health care for all Massachusetts residents.
Dr. Barbara Roop, co-chairwoman of Health Care for Massachusetts and an author of the proposal, said the amendment would expand health care to 60,000 state residents who currently have inadequate care and “force the Legislature to act” because of its amendment status.
“There is a tremendous amount of waste in out health care system,” Roop said. “Thirty-nine cents of every health care dollar is spent on administration.”
Along with Dr. John Goodson, an internist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Roop acquired the 71,000 signatures required for the initiative to be placed on the ballot as early as 2006, should the Legislature approve it this year.
But opponents of the amendment say the proposal is too broad and lacks aim and focus.
Eileen MacAnenny, vice president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, called universal health care a “laudable goal” but said the amendment seems financially impossible.
“It has no road map for which to pay for it,” MacAnenny said.
MacAnenny added that the amendment should pass if it reaches the ballot in 2006, but its legal effects could “bankrupt the state financially and wreak havoc on the current health care system.”
Other opponents said they would prefer a national movement rather than a statewide one. While Roop said she would prefer national, universal healthcare, Goodson said many national movements begin in one state.
“The cost of waiting is tremendous,” Roop said. “The uninsured, on average, are sicker and die sooner” than those with insurance, she said.
Roop admitted that her initiative is “not proposing any particular solution,” but she said its broad language was justified. “Broad principles are what belong in the constitution,” she said.
“Our job is not to advocate one solution or another,” Goodson said, agreeing with Roop.
Roop added that she did not know what that solution might be, but said an amendment would trigger interest groups to democratically design a solution for state health care needs.
Roop and Goodson endorsed a bill proposed by Sen. Steven Tolman (D-Boston), which would establish a 15-member Massachusetts Health Care Trust, saying it could work in conjunction with their amendment.
The office would oversee health care delivery services to residents, collect and disperse funds to residents and negotiate rates with providers through the secretaries of Health and Human Services, Administration and Finance and the commissioner of Public Health, along with 12 governor-appointed members.
“Having one entity in the state, you would get rid of a lot of the administrative costs,” said Kerry Malloy, Tolman’s chief of staff. “By eliminating that, you would be able to put a lot more money into health care.”
Goodson said he believes youths, especially those who are unemployed, are essential to leading the movement for expanded health care.
“There are plenty who leave college and don’t have jobs,” Goodson said, adding that the movement would largely affect the working poor and future generations.
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