MA ballot: health care as a human right regardless of age, state of health, or employment status?

[midnight armadillo]

This is a nonbinding ballot question in MA:
Should the state representative from this district be instructed to support legislation establishing health care as a human right regardless of age, state of health, or employment status, by creating a single payer health insurance system like Medicare that is comprehensive, cost effective, and publicly provided to all residents of Massachusetts?

The question was on the ballots for 15 House districts. You can see the current count here:
http://www.boston.com/news/special/politics/2010/ballot_questions/results/#Single-payer health insurance

As of this post it's 36,958 YES, and 26,949 NO. That's a good margin in favor! The state is right now attempting to alter the way hospitals, docs etc are compensated by paying for medical outcomes not services rendered. With voter pressure like this maybe they can ditch Romneycare along with way.

The 1st state to single payer could win economically - if they can drop health care costs by 20% and keep them low while costs spiral out of control in the other 49...well, that's a big draw for businesses and a big economic advantage.

[Drale]

1. I believe that the right of everyone to have health care is within the following words

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

[midnight armadillo]

2. And in the Constitution

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.