The document discusses progress towards achieving universal healthcare in Massachusetts through a single-payer system. It notes that prominent political figures like Al Gore and Michael Dukakis now support single-payer. The advocacy group MASS-CARE has been educating the public and legislators through community events. However, the current healthcare reform law in Massachusetts is failing to cover many residents and imposing high costs on the middle class. True reform requires replacing the private insurance system with a single-payer Medicare for All approach.

1. CommonHealth Volume 2, Number 5 ~ Fall 2007
Universal Health Care Education Fund
MASS-CARE on the Move!
Words from the Co-Chairs
Jackie Wolf and Pat Berger have each identified a
phrase for this issue of CommonHealth that illustrates
where we are in the campaign for Single Payer health
care.
Pat’s phrase is “the tide is turning” (coming from a lover
of the ocean). Let’s start with Al Gore coming out for a
Single Payer health care system! If he pushes for single
payer as he has with global warming, we will really be
winners! More locally, Gov. Michael Dukakis is supporting
Single Payer health care and has agreed to join the
Advisory Board of MASS-CARE! Single payer hit the big
screen with Michael Moore’s movie “SiCKO” and exposed
how the insurance industry avoids taking care of sick
people so the companies can make more money. The members have been invited to speak before civic clubs
Massachusetts Medical Society added Single Payer to and organizations around the state. Jim Herbert
the options for achieving universal health care. This is a (MASS-CARE) has done a great job contacting Rotary
big step for this venerable organization and hopefully will Clubs around the Boston area; Diana Stein (MASS-CARE
mean that it will no longer testify against the Single and League of Women Voters [LWV] member), Jim and
Payer Health Care Trust Bill S.703. The tide is turning Jackie have been well received in Winchester, Wakefield,
because we the people know that single payer saves Malden and Stoneham. There have been two opportunities
money, covers everybody and makes access to for Jackie to be on programs with members of the
comprehensive health care a right for all residents. If we Connector Board – once for the LWV fall conference in
can continue to educate our legislators about Single Payer Quincy with Celia Wcislo, and another time in Sudbury for
and expand our coalition, we will turn the tide for good! the LWV along with Dolores Mitchell. Sandy Eaton and
Jackie Wolf gave a workshop on single payer for the
Jackie’s phrase is about outreach and action: “call us and Massachusetts Senior Action Council biennial convention
we’ll come.” The outreach work of MASS-CARE is in Worcester. Finally, Cheryl Hamlin, MD (MASS-CARE,
building steam. Since the last Newsletter, members of the PNHP and League member) and Jackie Wolf talked with
MASS-CARE coalition have been at fairs from the medical and graduate nursing students at UMass Medical
western to the eastern part of the state handing out School in Worcester. More talks are scheduled all the time
literature and asking people to sign petitions for S.703 – so back to our phrase: “Call us and we’ll come!”
and HR.676. Here’s the flavor of one exchange: “I saw
the Principal of Amherst Regional High School at the
Garlic Festival in Orange, MA. He asked: ‘In one or two
This issue: Executive Director Benjamin Day;
sentences, tell me why I should support S.703’? My reply
Editor, Sandy Eaton; copy: Pat Berger, Carol Caro, Sandy
was, ‘When your daughter grows up, she will never have to Eaton, Jackie Wolf; photos: Sandy Eaton, Pam Edwards;
worry about having health care.’ He signed the petition layout: Erin Servaes, Chris Doucette; printing compliments
right away.” of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
In addition to tabling at fairs, MASS-CARE coalition

2. Scrubs for SiCKO moderate stands on solving the problems. Their positions
take incremental steps that won’t offend the insurance
In June, nursing organizations across North America and pharmaceutical industries, but won’t end the
linked arms with Physicians for a National Health Program suffering of millions of families who can’t afford
in promoting the “Scrubs for SiCKO” campaign, using the necessary medical care.
window of opportunity provided by Michael Moore’s latest
documentary. This campaign was launched at a spirited Senator Dennis Kucinich is the only major-party
rally on the steps of the California state capitol in candidate who has espoused a single-payer national
healthcare system and supports Representative Conyers’
bill HR.676 (strenthened and improved Medicare for all) in
Congress. All the other candidates, both Republican and
Democratic, support building on the existing employer-
based private healthcare system instead of replacing it
with a government–run system that would be truly
universal, equitable and comprehensive.
In the Democratic camp Senator Clinton and Senator
Edwards have tried to emulate the Massachusetts plan by
advocating an “individual mandate” that would require
every American to have insurance. Senator Obama does
not endorse the “individual mandate.” To pay for their
health plans, Obama, Clinton and Edwards would offer tax
credits that would ensure that people pay no more than a
certain percentage of their income for health care and
would roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Public
plans as well as private plans would be available. All three
Sacramento and spread to dozens of cities in the would do away with the insurance industry policy of
following weeks. New England activists came together in excluding coverage to people with previous illnesses.
Manchester, fanning out after the town hall meeting to
visit presidential candidates’ campaign headquarters to Gov. Romney is now backing away from some of the
demand support for healthcare justice. Canadian nurses elements of his own Massachusetts plan. He is not
returned home to spread the word that US market supporting the “individual mandate” but wants to shift
medicine was no good. So SiCKO was promoted in cities health care reform to the states by giving them incentives
across Canada as well. The DVD edition is out now too. to expand health care coverage and by deregulating the
insurance industry to promote more “competition.”
In August, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions Former New York mayor Giuliani supports tax breaks for
published “Conversations with Champions of Medicare” by families to pay for health insurance coverage.
Ann Silversides, a bilingual first-person account of the
fight to build, preserve and improve Canada’s single-payer As Massachusetts residents we are experiencing first
system. This 98-page book can be read in its entirety hand the problems with the incremental health care
online at the CFNU site - http://www.nursesunions.ca - or reforms that are being proposed by the major presidential
it can be downloaded in PDF format. Copies may also be candidates. Dennis Kucinich is the only major-party
obtained by emailing CFNU or by calling 613-526-4661. candidate who really understands what it will take to get
true universal healthcare for all Americans.
How Candidates View Healthcare
Reform Policies in the 2008 Election The Boston Globe featured two Op Ed pieces over the summer that
looked at the state of healthcare reform in Massachusetts: one by
Steffi Woolhandler and David Himmelstein (September 17, 2007)
There are huge problems with our current fragmented and the other by Benjamin Day (August 30, 2007). Woolhandler and
expensive healthcare system that leaves 47 million Himmelstein’s article looks at the effect of health care reform on
Americans without access to health insurance coverage, middle income families and Day reviews what will happen with the
ranks 37th in the world on quality of care by the World governor’s proposal to limit access to the Free Care Pool. Both
articles find big problems ahead for Massachusetts residents.
Health Organization, and eats up 16.2% of the GDP. Yet
the major candidates in both parties have taken very

3. Health reform failure Medicare's and 11 times those in Canada's single payer
system. Single payer reform could save $7.7 billion
Woolhandler & Himmelstein point out “The middle class is annually on paperwork and insurance profits in
being priced out of healthcare. Virtually all of this year's Massachusetts, enough to cover all of the uninsured and
increase [in the number of uninsured] was among families to upgrade coverage for the rest of us.”
with incomes above $50,000; in fact, two-thirds of the
newly uncovered were in the above-$75,000 group. And “Of course, single payer reform is anathema to the health
full-time workers accounted for 56 percent of the insurance industry. But breaking their stranglehold on our
increase, with their children making up much of the rest.” health system and our politicians is the only way for
health reform to get beyond square one.”
Their article reports that “The new Census numbers are
particularly disheartening for anyone hoping for a
Massachusetts miracle. In the Commonwealth, 651,000
residents are uninsured, 65 percent more than the figure The dark side of healthcare reform
used by state leaders in planning for health reform. In
sum, Massachusetts health reform planners have been Day’s piece on Free Care Pool questions “Why would
wishing away a quarter of a million uninsured people.” [Governor] Patrick, under the guise of a law designed to
expand access to healthcare for everyone, cripple the
The authors question “Why has progress [in signing up state's only program that guarantees that low-income,
people through the Connector] been so meager? And uninsured residents have a place to land when all else
respond “Because most of the promised new coverage is fails? The answer from administration officials is this: a
of the ‘buy it yourself’ variety, with scant help offered to safety net that is too effective at catching people when
the struggling middle class. And 244,000 of Massachusetts’ they fall through the cracks is incompatible with the
uninsured get zero assistance - just a stiff fine if they state’s new health plans. Almost all of those who have been
don't buy coverage.” For example, “A couple in their late added to the healthcare rolls under the reform law have
50s faces a minimum premium of $8,638 annually, for a come in under fully subsidized, free-coverage plans that
policy with no drug coverage at all and a $2,000 deductible don't require premium payments. The partially subsidized
per person before insurance even kicks in. Such skimpy plans, on the other hand, as well as those plans residents
yet costly coverage is, in many cases, worse than no must purchase at full cost, haven't exactly been flying off
coverage at all. Illness will still bring crippling medical bills the shelves.”
- but the $8,638 annual premium will empty their bank
accounts even before the bills start arriving. “There is clear evidence that the standards for what
people can afford to pay under the new law are wildly
“Little wonder that barely 2 percent of those required to unrealistic. But state officials implementing the law argue
buy such coverage have thus far signed up. While the that the existence of a working safety net may be
middle class sinks, the health reform law has buoyed our discouraging enrollment. Commonwealth Care
state's wealthiest health institutions. Hospitals like representatives have commented publicly that the Free
Massachusetts General are reporting record profits and Care Pool must be made less attractive.”
enjoying rate increases tucked into the reform package.
Blue Cross and other insurers that lobbied hard for the law “In the United States, the only developed nation without a
stand to gain billions from the reform, which shrinks their national universal health plan, the health safety net is
contribution to the state's free care pool and will force targeted as a means of corralling the uninsured into
hundreds of thousands to purchase their defective traditional insurance plans.” As Day points out, “This does,
products.” however, succeed in punishing the poor, throwing low-
income communities back on their own resources, and
“Health reform built on private insurance isn't working increasing the stigma upon safety net recipients.”
and can't work; it costs too much and delivers too little.
At present, bureaucracy consumes 31 percent of each Day concludes, “The nation today is looking to
healthcare dollar. The Connector - the new state agency Massachusetts. Are we as a society willing to use our
created to broker coverage under the reform law - is neighbors' health as an additional stick to punish them for
adding another 4.5 percent to the already sky-high deciding they can't afford the state's ‘affordable’
overhead charged by private insurers. Administrative premiums? I hope not.”
costs at Blue Cross are nearly five times higher than

4. What we can do now to achieve Fundraising
single payer health care
Single-payer healthcare reform has powerful enemies in
1. Volunteer for MASS-CARE! the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Their
multimillion dollar ads twist the truth about single payer
• We need office volunteers to make phone calls, health care reform and their contributions to lawmakers
write letters, stuff envelopes for special mailings. make it harder to get legislative support.
• We need volunteers who will work on the
Legislative Committee of MASS-CARE to support The Fundraising Committee of MASS-CARE has been hard
the bills we have helped sponsor, organize the at work writing grants, soliciting contributions, getting
districts of key legislators to support our bills, go matching grants that double our income, and building a
to the legislature and lobby legislators, develop base of committed donors that will pledge to give annually.
legislative strategy with the committee. Healthcare reform is the most important domestic issue
• We need volunteers to work on fundraising; grant in 2008. Electing legislators who will support single payer
writers, event planners, single payer signs, stickers will be extremely important in the coming year.
and posters, house parties for “SiCKO,” and any
new ideas. We need everyone to give generously so we can expand
• We need volunteers to help on broadening our our staff to reach more people and be more effective in
access to the media; new contacts with pressing for legislation that will lead to single payer
newspapers, TV and radio stations, local access TV, reform. We ask you to think big and make MASS-CARE
press releases. or UHCEF your favorite charity! All the donors and
• We need volunteers to be speakers for Single volunteers are so important in moving us forward. We
Payer when groups ask us to come and give a salute you and look forward to working with you in the
presentation. We are going to have a speaker’s next year!
training session in early 2008.
2. Go speak to your legislators and be sure they
understand what single payer can do for health care in
MA. Keep them informed about new developments on
single payer and cost control bills that need their support.
3. Work on the political campaign of candidates that
support single payer.
4. Host a house party and show SiCKO, now out on
DVD. MASS-CARE will provide speakers to discuss the
movie. To find out more about HR.676 and the SiCKO-Cure
Road Show, contact:
Healthcare-NOW!
339 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012-2725
800-453-1305 or 212-475-8350
info@healthcare-now.org Universal Health Care Education Fund (UHCEF)
http://www.healthcare-now.org c/o MASS-CARE
33 Harrison Avenue, Fifth Floor
5. Work with your local Town Democratic Committee to Boston, MA 02111
support single payer. P: 617-723-7001
F: 617-723-7002
6. Give generously to support MASS-CARE financially info@masscare.org
because this is a crucial year to elect progressive www.masscare.org
candidates who will support single payer when Chapter 58
unravels.