Calling on MassCare!

by: scott_laugenour

Tue Oct 04, 2011 at 15:56:25 PM EDT

MassCare is the leading statewide advocacy group for Medicare For All.  Although its non-profit status prevents it from joining the MA Nurses Association and others in endorsing Miller, it occasionally takes part in voter education by publishing responses to candidate questionnaires.

Today I sent the following message to MassCare's Executive Director, Ben Day, strongly suggesting that this election is such an important occasion.  Mr. Day responded very quickly letting me know he would bring this up with his co-chairs.

If MassCare acts on this it may be the first time that it sends a questionnaire out in a partisan election where a Green-Rainbow Party candidate was challenging a Democrat.  MassCare failed to send questionnaires out in last year's gubernatorial election and in state rep elections in the 3rd and 4th Berkshire Districts.

A CANDIDATE IS 'CONCERNED THAT MEDICARE-FOR-ALL WOULD PUT INSTITUTIONS ... IN JEOPARDY'

Hi Ben,

I'm interested in knowing what MassCare has done or is planning to do as it relates to voter education in the special election for 3rd Berkshire District State Representative.

As you know, the former 3rd Berkshire District State Representative, Chris Speranzo, was a co-sponsor of the single payer health care bill when he resigned earlier this year.  There is only one candidate in the 4-way special election race who can be sure to co-sponsor the bill when elected:   Mark Miller.*

Unlike the MA Nurses Association and MassAlliance, which have both endorsed Mark,  I'm aware that MassCare does not make endorsements.  You have told me, though,  that it does occasionally engage in voter education, assessing the candidates' positions on single payer to help voters who care about the issue to make an informed decision.

I hope it's not the case that the only occasions when MassCare engages in voter education are when the supporter of single payer (aka Medicare For All) is a Democrat.  Such a policy would silence MassCare in this election, too, where other advocacy groups have been bolder.  It's very clear* that the Democrat in the race, whose comments I reference in the headline of this message, is not a supporter of single payer and cannot be relied upon to co-sponsor the bill, which if she won would further escalate the session-to-session decline we have seen in the number of co-sponsors of the single payer bill.

--
Scott Laugenour
Berkshire County Representative
Green-Rainbow Party State Committee

* From today's (Oct 4, 2011) Berkshire Eagle report on last night's candidate debate:  

...While [Green-Rainbow candidate] Miller reiterated his advocacy for single-payer health care, [Democratic candidate] Farley-Bouvier responded by saying that a "Medicare for all" approach would mean that health care providers would be reimbursed well below the cost of care. She expressed concern that the system would put institutions like Berkshire Medical Center in jeopardy.