Health Care Reform

Date: February 26th, 2006
Sent to Boston Globe

So, "Hopes fade for Healthcare Reform" (Globe, February 26, 2006, page A1).
It is time to take a more sensible approach. There is no logical reason for employers to be implicated in the provision of Health Insurance. That should be government's responsibility.
We need to go to a radical solution:
1. Enroll everyone in Massachusetts in the State Employee Plan -- I believe that Bob Reich's Health Care team showed that this was feasible during the last gubernatorial campaign.
2. Pay for this through a progressive income tax system. Given that costs for the uninsured are currently hidden in the insurance premiums for those individuals and the companies that pay for insurance. This should be revenue neutral to both as long as the firms pay what they now pay for health insurance directly to the individuals insured.
3. Enjoy the benefits of health insurance for all citizens of the Commonwealth.