AS WE enter another critical phase in the ongoing development of Massachusetts' healthcare reform, Jim Stergios of the Pioneer Institute mounted an attack on the state's two key safety net hospitals: Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance.
These two health systems received the largest share of the former "free care pool" because they provided the largest amount of free care in the state.
As health reform transitions to more insured patients, these two institutions still serve a disproportionate number of poor and uninsured patients, and rightly require an ongoing limited subsidy.
Instead of attacking the heroic work of our leading safety net hospitals, Stergios and the Pioneer Institute should focus on a real and immediate problem: employers and insurers who are getting a great deal as part of healthcare reform, but who are balking at stepping forward and contributing their fair share to ensure healthcare reform's ongoing success.
MIKE FADEL, Dorchester
The writer is executive vice president of 1199 Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers.
