Kerry talks healthcare...

[Mass]

http://www.telegram.com/article/20100130/NEWS/1300348/1003/NEWS03

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=WT&Date=20100130&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=1300348&Ref=AR&Profile=1003&MaxW=740

WORCESTER — Sen. John F. Kerry said yesterday he remains hopeful Congress will pass health care reform legislation this year, and he told local health officials he will return to the Senate inspired by what they are doing.

“I will go back reinvigorated and with a much better sense of what we have to fight for,” said Mr. Kerry, D-Massachusetts.

The state’s senior senator met yesterday at the University of Massachusetts Medical School with medical school officials and researchers, including Nobel laureate Craig C. Mello, UMass Memorial Health Care Inc. officials, University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson, City Manager Michael V. O’Brien and others from the business community for a discussion about UMass, health care and other matters. Most of the meeting was private.

In remarks after the meeting, Mr. Kerry said it remains important for Congress to do “something” when it comes to health care reform. He acknowledged negotiations over legislation did not leave voters with a favorable view of the process and that some elements might need to be stripped out.

“We need to deliver a clean, clear product,” he said.

What happens next in health care legislation, however, is a concern for hospitals because they had hoped to balance lower payments from government insurance programs with more patients through broader affordable insurance coverage, said John G. O’Brien, president and chief executive of UMass Memorial Health Care. Now, he said, the fear is that hospitals will see their payments cut but insurance coverage won’t increase.

“We’d like to do our part, but it has to be comprehensive reform,” said Mr. O’Brien, describing a patient who recently arrived for care at UMass Memorial with insurance with a $20,000 deductible.

UMass officials said they plan to reach out to Scott Brown, the Republican state senator from Wrentham who was elected to fill the state’s second Senate seat, and invite him to visit. Mr. Brown has called on President Obama to freeze all spending outside of the military.

UMass Medical School takes in millions of dollars in federal research money each year from the National Institutes of Health and other entities. Dr. Michael F. Collins, chancellor of UMass Medical School, said he is concerned about how research funding will be affected by budget concerns and believes that an argument can be made that the nation’s economic health benefits from research.

“This is not big government spending,” Dr. Collins said. “It really isn’t.”

[wisteria]

1. Good comments. I am still hopful we will get conprehensive reform.

But, Kerry's comments about the process and the bill being clear and clean are very important. Many of the people I speak with about HCR mention the backroom deals and the lack of understanding.

[MonteLukast]

2. I hear way too much talk of balancing the budget for comfort.

Especially since too often, balancing the budget has come at the expense of Americans who need services.

Kerry and UMass make a good team here, bringing their voices to bear to skeptical people who have heard "big government is bad" for too long.

And, psst... Brown? You want to balance the budget so much, how about working to draw down Afghanistan. Wars are rough on budgets.