Issue Position: Providing Healthcare for All

Issue Position

Massachusetts has led the way in providing health care for our residents. However, while the Massachusetts Health Reform law passed in 2006 reduced the number of uninsured people, it did not do enough to slow the increasing costs of health care premiums, the financial crisis among safety-net hospitals and community health centers, and the disproportionate financial burden on lower-middle-class families. The current system is expensive with little capacity to control costs.

I support passing a universal single-payer health care system to address these deficiencies. This would expand the health care coverage now provided to those over 65 to all residents of Massachusetts. This would provide a single publicly-financed insurance plan providing comprehensive health care to all. Many countries which have implemented this approach have achieved universal, comprehensive coverage while benefiting from enormous savings.

Costs can be reduced dramatically in the following ways: a single publicly-financed plan encourages prevention by giving everyone access to primary care allowing early intervention and reduced treatment expenses; it reduces insurance overhead (private insurance companies spend from 10-15% on each dollar on overhead, while public insurance costs less than 5%); it reduces provider overhead by streamlining billing and reducing paperwork; and it allows joint purchasing power to drive down costs including lower costs of prescription drugs. At the same time, all residents are free to choose the doctors, hospitals and community health center they want.

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