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New from CommonWealth Beacon |
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MATERNITY: Merrimack Health’s Methuen campus will shutter its maternity unit in August, the 12th closure of maternity services in Massachusetts since 2010. Hallie Claflin looks at the bigger picture. |
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INSTAGRAM: The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Instagram owner Meta is not immune from a state lawsuit alleging it has addictive features that exploited young users. Chris Lisinski reports on the opinion’s national significance. |
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BALLOT QUESTIONS: Lawmakers are offering mixed messages about a ballot question that would cut the income tax, at once slamming the campaign as “insulting” and also urging organizers to come to the table for negotiations. Chris Lisinski has more. |
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OPINION: Education consultant Laurie Gagnon argues that policymakers should not view debate about graduation requirements as a “binary choice between state standards and local autonomy.” |
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| | | By CommonWealth Beacon staff |
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The road to the landmark health care access law Massachusetts enacted 20 years ago is dotted with milestones that are familiar today. |
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This week on The Codcast, John McDonough, a professor at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, moves from the co-host chair to the guest chair for the latest installation of Health or Consequences, where he joins former Greater Boston Interfaith Organization lead organizer Cheri Andes for a reflection on the grassroots campaign that led to “Romneycare.” |
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In the years leading to the 2006 breakthrough, policymakers were feeling a sense of crisis because of impending federal funding cuts to the state’s Medicaid program, McDonough recalled, as he and Andes were interviewed by Health or Consequences co-host Paul Hattis. Advocates launched a multi-year campaign targeting 2006 as the pivot point for action, and to boost their leverage, they also collected signatures to put a health care access question on that year’s ballot — that way, if lawmakers failed to find consensus on the thorny issue, voters would have a chance to force through reforms anyway. |
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McDonough, a former state representative, said it had become clear that ballot questions could be proposed “not so much to win a law on the ballot, but to use the threat of an initiative as a way to force action that otherwise might not occur.” |
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Getting lawmakers on the same page was no small feat. For months, the House and Senate were at odds over how to approach reforms, and Andes recalled then-House Speaker Sal DiMasi urging activists to take a harder line supporting his approach. DiMasi’s press secretary, she said, asked GBIO to hold a press conference outside then-Senate President Robert Travaglini’s office criticizing Travaglini’s position on the legislation as putting thousands of lives at risk. |
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Despite the heightened emotions, Democratic legislators did ultimately achieve compromise, and Republican Gov. Mitt Romney signed the bill into law on April 12, 2006, in a ceremony at Faneuil Hall. The measure would soon become the model for the federal Affordable Care Act. |
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Andes said the history highlights the opportunity for change that comes when a major public policy issue erupts, someone has an idea, and those in power have “political will” to pursue a solution. |
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“When those three windows are open or held open long enough, you can drive big change,” she said. |
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On this episode, Andes recounts how GBIO got involved (8:45), McDonough discusses the role a ballot initiative played (13:30), and both describe the influence the law had on national policy and future campaigns (33:00). |
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More from CommonWealth Beacon |
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ELECTRIC SHOCK: A Bellingham man spent months securing a loan to add solar panels and battery storage to his home only to be hit with a nearly $12,000 charge from National Grid. It’s a microcosm of the last-mile barriers that utilities can pose for solar and storage projects aiming to connect to the electrical grid. Jordan Wolman takes a deep dive. |
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HEALTH CARE: Twenty years after Gov. Mitt Romney signed the state health care law that would become the model for the federal Affordable Care Act, six writers from the industry, government, and the business community reflect on Romneycare’s impact and shortfalls. |
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NEAL: US Rep. Richard Neal said he made a personal appeal to the White House chief of staff about impounded MBTA subway car shells made in China before they were released, but federal officials deny his account. (The Boston Globe – paywall) |
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WIND: Vineyard Wind filed a lawsuit against turbine manufacturer GE Renewables, seeking to force its continued participation in the offshore wind project amid continued fallout from the July 2024 blade collapse. (New Bedford Light) |
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DELIVERY: A new Boston ordinance takes aim at the cavalcade of food delivery drivers swarming across city streets with additional insurance and reporting requirements. (WBUR) |
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JUDGES: The Trump administration fired three Massachusetts immigration judges, including the one who moved to end the government’s attempts to deport Rumeysa Ozturk. (GBH News) |
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MEDICAL PAROLE: Gaps in the state’s medical parole system leave some incarcerated individuals still behind bars while facing dire prognoses. (MassLive – paywall) |
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