A welcome advocate on healthcare
WHEN IT comes to healthcare, Governor Deval Patrick said he is speaking up for the little guy. He needs to do it more loudly, more often, and more effectively.
Patrick recently announced plans to lower prices for the health insurance coverage that uninsured residents will be required to buy starting July 1. He achieved what he grandly declared "affordability" after personally calling the chief executives of three health insurance companies and asking them to lower the cost.
Gubernatorial phone calls like this, made on behalf of the people, are welcome news, especially in comparison with the phone call Patrick recently made on behalf of a lending company that once employed him. He was elected to lobby for average citizens, not for a predatory mortgage lender on whose board he once served.
But labeling something affordable doesn't mean that it is; some advocates of universal coverage continue to question the overall viability of the state's landmark healthcare reform law.
Dolores L. Mitchell, one member of the panel overseeing implementation of the law, calls Patrick's lobbying "a really positive step." His telephone calls to executives at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Tufts Health Plan "probably made the difference," she said.
Yet Mitchell, executive director of the Group Insurance Commission, contends that "affordability" remains a key question. "We've begun to dance around it. We haven't faced up to it," she said.
When the new healthcare law was hammered out, former governor Mitt Romney and legislative leaders estimated that affordable coverage would cost about $200 a month for those who do not receive healthcare benefits from employers. Yet the first set of bids offered by insurers averaged $380 a month.
After Patrick got into the mix, the insurers lowered their proposals. As reported by the Globe, the lowest-priced plan offers basic coverage for individuals for $175.15 a month. This plan covers three preventive doctor visits a year for an individual, or six per family, before any deductible kicks in. This is an important benefit. But the annual deductible is high: $2,000 for an individual and $4,000 for a family. Other plans covering residents between 35 and 39 range from $241.68 per month for Tufts; $275 for Blue Cross Blue Shield; and $288.31 for Harvard Pilgrim.
The premiums increase with age. Those 56 and older would pay between $347 and $505 in monthly premiums. That's a lot of money for people who don't have it.
Patrick's mistakes since taking office are well documented, from his leased Cadillac to the phone call he made on behalf of Ameriquest Mortgage, his former employer. What he started to do in the healthcare arena is a tiny bright spot in an otherwise dreary start to a new administration.
In addition to his personal advocacy on behalf of the health care reform legislation, Patrick's first budget proposes more money for public health. He recently announced that
"The citizens of Massachusetts should be encouraged that the governor acknowledged some missteps and committed to learn from them. Meanwhile, he is effectively working to implement health care reform that people care about ," said John Sasso, a strategist for Partners Health Care and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, who worked on the health care legislative package.
Yes, but -- what people really care about is meaningful healthcare reform. Meaningful health care reform expands affordable access to the largest pool of currently uninsured citizens.
After several weeks of watching Patrick commit political malpractice, it would be nice to see him pull off some smooth political moves. It would be even nicer if the politics yielded good policy. On health care, that means the governor has to keep pushing for the little guy.
That is the way to stop the cascade of bad news and change the picture for a struggling new administration. Patrick needs to make more phone calls like the ones he made to the health insurance companies.
He also needs to think about affordability the way the little guy thinks about it.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. 
