Bi-Coastal Health Reform

Today, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) will hold a kick-off rally for health care reform. Check out the Globe coverage. The event is expected to draw more than 1,000 people. GBIO has joined Health Care For All’s Affordable Care Today Campaign (link) and will pledge their support to gather signatures for a health care ballot initiative for November 2006 which would raise the cigarette tax by 50¢ and mandate all but the smallest employers provide coverage or pay into a fund. We should all applaud their efforts to push the access envelope to the max. The Health Care Constitutional Amendment, if ratified, will make it much more likely that their proposal or any other access expansion enacted by the voters will stick.
Yesterday we discussed on this page how the Constitutional Amendment approach may become a model for national reform, and how states usually lead the way in important reform. Well, seek and ye shall receive. Today, we saw this article (registration required) about health care reform in Oregon. Guess what? It looks like Oregonians might try the Constitutional Amendment path as well. Three state legislators, frustrated with the lack of action, are gearing up to gather signatures to amend their state Constitution so that if voters approve the amendment in November 2006, the state constitution would then require the Legislature to "expand health care coverage so that every Oregon resident is able to obtain effective and affordable health care on a regular basis.” We do not have any more details yet, but we’ll be sure to let you know as we find out more. Once again it looks like Massachusetts is leading the way.