Today is a bright day for the uninsured:
BOSTON - Lawmakers have approved a sweeping health care reform package that dramatically expands coverage for the state's uninsured, a bill that backers hope will become a model for the rest of the nation.
The plan would use a combination of financial incentives and penalties to expand access to health care over the next three years and extend coverage to the state's estimated 500,000 uninsured.
This is exactly what democrats need to do to show the american people that they are capable of providing real change. Furthermore, this is a glimpse of how Dean's 50 state strategy will be capable of providing real results at the state and local level.
-more below
I understand that Massachusetts is already a fairly liberal state, and that it should not be used as a barometer to judge what can be done at the national level. However, it is a shining example of what can, and should, be done in other heavily democratic states like New Jersey and California.
If all goes as planned, poor people will be offered free or heavily subsidized coverage; those who can afford insurance but refuse to get it will face increasing tax penalties until they obtain coverage; and those already insured will see a modest drop in their premiums.
On Tuesday, the House approved the bill on a 154-2 vote and the Senate endorsed it 37-0. A final procedural vote is needed in both chambers of the Democratic-controlled legislature before the bill can head to the desk of Gov. Mitt Romney.
It is here where the bill might face a snag. The governor of Massachusetts's governor, Republican Eric Fehrnstrom, is likely to alter this bill before it becomes law.
Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the governor, a potential Republican candidate for president in 2008, would sign the bill but would make some changes that wouldn't "affect the main purpose."
This puts the democrats of Massachusetts in a win/win situation. If the bill passes unaltered then this would be great for everyone. However, the situation will become a bit more interesting if Fehrnstrom's republican DNA keeps him from signing a bill that helps the average working individual. State Democrats would then be able to hit Fehrnstrom from all sides on a very popular issue as long as he remains in office and give them the ability to present an "us vs. them" frame where democrats support the wellbeing of the common man and republicans clearly oppose it. This would leave the door wide open for a Democratic Governor to come in and approve the bill after it is reintroduced.
Check out the entire story here