MA State Leaders Acknowledge Problems, Conflicted About Deadlines

January 31, 2007

As reported by the State House News Service, three of our political leaders weighted in extensively yesterday on the problems, timeframes and opportunities associated with healthcare reform. The Connector Authority is struggling to bring down the monthly premiums on new Commonwealth Choice plans that will be offered to more than 160,000 uninsured individuals. Reportedly, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charles Baker, had suggested a plan with a $280 monthly premium. The authority's board is negotiating with insurers after the industry initially suggested a plan with a monthly premium of $380

The following summarizes the comments made by Governor Patrick, House Speaker Sal DiMasi and Senator Richard Moore.

• Gov. Deval Patrick echoed the commitment to the law´s current framework, but acknowledged that the plan could miss deadlines as its architects and implementers bicker over insurance costs and scope. At the State House, Patrick told reporters: "We aren't far enough along yet to know whether to try a totally different course than the one we´re on. Let´s stay on this course. There are going to be bumps, there are going to be disappointments as we go along." Asked about meeting the law's deadlines, including the July 1 date for adults to purchase minimum coverage, Patrick replied, "I think it´s too soon to say. I would like to. But I want to do it right." Patrick said he has dialed provider CEOs, encouraging them to "go back to the drawing board and sharpen their pencils." Patrick said, "It&acus too soon to proclaim it either an unqualified success or an unqualified failure. There´s a lot of work yet to do."


• "I think we need to push forward with the deadlines," House Speaker Sal DiMasi told reporters after addressing a Boston Bar Association event on the April 2006 insurance expansion law. "We made them aggressive deadlines and like anybody else I know if I don´t have a deadline for myself then I´m not going to complete the task." He added: "The more you put it off the less likely this will be a successful health care reform program." DiMasi said rate regulation is a "fallback position" and added that the mere suggestion that government might get involved in setting rates that are now rooted in competition may prompt insurance providers to develop more affordable plans than the ones suggested so far to the new Connector Authority. "That´s a good incentive to give them an opportunity to come up with the right answer," he said, adding that market-driven rates and competition were important underpinnings of the law. He declined to rule out rate regulation, saying, "It´s a concept, I think, if other things fail."


• Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge), a key architect of last year´s law, which DiMasi emphasized is a "blueprint," suggested today that lawmakers should consider regulating rates paid to health insurance plans and postponing the financial penalties individuals will face if they don't have insurance by July 1. "I think that´s an area we need to talk about," Moore said, suggesting potentially delaying penalties until Jan. 1, 2008, or even longer.

In an unexpected twist, Insurers warned today that more than 200,000 insured individuals may need to buy more coverage to meet proposed minimum coverage levels.

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