With hundreds of thousands of residents without health care coverage, one of the most important issues facing our state today is the quality and cost of health care.  It is unacceptable for even one of our citizens to be without health insurance in this day and age. As a member of the Joint Committee on Public Health I am working to improve the quality of healthcare and make it more affordable for all of our residents.

My major health care priority is fighting for prescription drug coverage that everyone can afford, so no one ever has to choose between life saving medication or paying for heat or food.  In 2004, the Massachusetts Senior Action Council awarded me with their Legislator of the Year Award for my efforts on this extremely important issue.
 

Health Care Reform

In 2006, the Legislature passed a landmark bill to expand health care access for uninsured Massachusetts adults and children. The effort also helped the state move forward toward more affordable health care for all. Major provisions of the reform include:

• Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector: The Connector offers plans to small businesses (50 or fewer employees) and individuals. Eligible workers and their families can buy coverage with pre-tax dollars. The Connector will set subsidy levels for the Commonwealth Care program, set the affordability standards for individual mandate, and decide what insurance plans can be offered through the Connector, and allows multiple employers to contribute to an employee’s premium.

• Individual Mandate: Holding true to a long tradition of Massachusetts “firsts,” the bill creates a first-in-the-nation individual mandate to require all residents who can afford it to purchase health insurance.

• Employer Responsibility: The legislation creates a new Fair Share Contribution by requiring all businesses to contribute toward employee health insurance costs. This provision levels the playing field to ensure that employers who provide insurance no longer pay twice: once for their own employees and again for their competitors’ employees.

• New State Subsidies: The bill establishes new state subsidies for individuals with incomes less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Adults with incomes up to 100% FPL ($9,700) will be eligible for coverage without premiums.

• MassHealth Expansion: The legislation expands the Commonwealth’s MassHealth program to include children from families up to 300% of FPL ($48,000 for a family of three). In addition, it restores all previously cut benefits, including dental and vision services, chiropractic and prosthetics, and creates a smoking cessation pilot program for Masshealth enrollees.

• Fair Reimbursement Rates: The bill calls for long overdue increases in reimbursement rates to hospitals, physicians, and community health centers for treating the Commonwealth’s MassHealth patients. These increases are tied to quality and other performance measures.

You can read the text of the bill here or you can read Health Care for All’s bill summary.

Information for Individuals

Your children may qualify for MassHealth if your household makes below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Line

• $60,000 for a family of four

• $48,000 for a family of three

You may qualify for MassHealth as an individual if you make below 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Line (Currently at $9,700 a year)

Premiums are withheld if you fall below 100% of the Federal Poverty Line; sliding scale premiums apply if your above 100% of the Federal Poverty Line

The Commonwealth Health Connector will offer plans for individuals

Eligible families can buy insurance with pre-tax dollars

Multiple employers can contribute to one persons insurance through the Commonwealth Health Connector

• For more information visit the MassHealth website.

• Health Care for All has useful information for residents on where to find assistance.

Information for Employers

Your business may qualify for the Insurance Partnership program.  The business must employ less than 50 people.  The qualifying family must make less than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line, which is:

• $40,000 for a family of four

• $32,000 for a family of three

• $19,400 for a single person

If your business has 11 or more employees and your business does not offer coverage it will get charged $295 per full time employee annually.  Multiple employers can contribute to one persons insurance through the Commonwealth Health Connector.

For more information visit the Insurance Partnership program website or the Mass Health website.

Safe, Affordable Prescription Drugs

For the past three years I have led the fight in Massachusetts and nationwide to allow residents to safely purchase prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies at prices 30-60% less than in the U.S. 

Working with AARP, MA Senior Action Council and Health Care for All I will continue to pressure our state and federal governments to do something about the rising cost of prescription drugs.  A recent Associated Press national poll found that 65% of Americans surveyed believe that the government should make it easier for people to buy prescription drugs from other countries. 73% of those surveyed said that they know someone in their family that has cut back on prescribed dosages because of cost considerations.

In 2003, I organized a statewide bus tour with seniors and health care groups to rally for more affordable prescription drugs.  In 2004, the Senate passed my proposal to allow the state’s residents to reimport prescription drugs at more affordable prices, but the bill died in a House committee.

This session I re-filed my bill to establish an Office of Pharmaceutical Information, responsible for informing consumers on how to safely purchase affordable medications from Canada. The office will be directed only to work with certified Canadian pharmacies as approved by the Health Protection Branch (the Canadian equivalent to the FDA), which holds drug manufacturers and pharmacies to equally high standards as America does.
 

Lactation Consulting

I continue to sponsor a bill to establish a licensing board for lactation consultants registered with the nursing board. This is an important step to help new mothers obtain consultation and care for themselves and their babies. 
 

Emergency Room Interpreters

In my first year as State Representative, I successfully won passage of a new state law that requires emergency rooms in the Commonwealth to provide competent interpreters for non-English speaking patients. The legislation was essential to assure accurate communication between the doctor and patients in Massachusetts.

Paid Leave for American Red Cross Volunteer Service

Affordable Health Care for All Massachusetts Residents

Every one in Massachusetts deserves access to quality health care.  In 2004, I successfully fought for passage of his bill to create a commission to study the unequal delivery of health care to certain communities, ethnic and racial groups.

In 2004, I was named to the Health Disparities Commission with other members from the legislature, leaders in the health care and medical community, and representatives from affected communities to study these health care disparities and recommend changes to improve health outcomes for everyone in the Commonwealth.  The Commission is currently meeting and expects to release a report in the future.

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