As state budget reforms work their way through legislatures and courts around the country, a new front in the fight has opened up in an unlikely location: Massachusetts. Last night, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 111 to 42 to curb the bargaining power of state employees in an effort to control spiraling health care costs. As Massachusetts House Ways and Means Chair Brian Dempsey (D) explained, the bill was necessary to ensure that essential state programs could continue to receive adequate funding. “The cost of health insurance is going …
One by one, all but seven states have succumbed to pressure to adopt national academic standards. But in a recent bid to retain local control, members of a regional school board in Massachusetts asked state officials to reconsider that decision, according to Education Week. The Massachusetts school board expressed concerns that the Common Core State Standards, endorsed by the Obama administration, would result in the loss of local control. Its opposition is the latest knock on national standards, following criticism from leaders in South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. (Click here …
President Barack Obama’s promise that “if you like it you can keep it” may be this generation’s “read my lips—no new taxes,” claim. New Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Dr. Donald Berwick recently said “Medicare Advantage remains strong and a robust option for millions of seniors who choose to enroll or stay in a participating plan today and in the future.” But seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans offered through one Massachusetts insurer are about to find out otherwise. Harvard Pilgrim, the state’s second largest insurance company, plans to …
State officials around the country are getting a lesson from the California legislature in how not to respond to Obamacare. While the new federally supervised, state-based health insurance exchanges are to be up and running by January 1, 2014, the California legislature is poised to create the California Health Benefit Exchange through enactment of two bills (AB 1602 and SB 900). If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger—who ran for office as a champion of conservative economic policy—signs these bills, California would be the first state to enact an ideologically compliant set of …
Two of the most prominent “safety net” hospitals in Massachusetts are facing sizable budget gaps again this year, and are turning to the feds to bail them out. Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) have long received, in part because of their emphasis on the under- and uninsured, greater political assistance in propping up their balance sheets. The desired Medicaid waiver amendment would be worth $86 million this year for CHA and $90 million for BMC. These institutions play an important role in Massachusetts, but the new …
Marriage is under intensified assault in two federal courtrooms. Last week a federal district judge in Massachusetts acted alone to overrule 427 members of Congress who voted in 1996 to adopt the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a measure signed into law by President Clinton. DOMA has two major provisions. First, it affirms that the definition of marriage and related words like spouse and husband in federal law refers only to relationships between one man and one woman. Second, the law sets forth the intent of Congress that none of …
Major Stephen L. Godin thought he had retired from battle after logging over 2,000 hours during five overseas deployments as an F-4 Phantom pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps. However, thanks to forced unionism in Massachusetts, the fight continued for this honorable veteran. Major Godin has taught Naval Junior ROTC at North High School in Worcester, Massachusetts, for 15 years without paying any kind of union fees. He chose not to join a union because the military pays half of his salary, as well as his medical and dental insurance. …
Patience will be more than a virtue, under Obamacare. It’ll be a necessity. A recent article from ABC News outlines why Americans can expect longer and longer waits before they see a doctor. One reason is that there just won’t be enough doctors to get the job done. ABC reports that 10 years from now, the United States will short 85,000 primary care and high-demand specialty physicians. Says Dr. Kevin Pho, an internal medicine physician in New Hampshire, “I don’t think we have the primary care capacity to meet the …
In the wake of the historic election of Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, observers have expressed interest in the strategy behind his online campaign. Three members of the Scott Brown team visited The Heritage Foundation yesterday to talk about the campaign’s incredible success. Afterwards, we sat down with Robert, one of the chief architects of their web strategy.
In the wake of the Massachusetts election on Tuesday night, liberals in Congress have once again embarked on a course to change the rules to fit their needs. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) intends to introduce a bill that would eliminate the 60 vote threshold to end debate in the U.S. Senate. Ironically, the timing of their newest rule-changing efforts is a direct result of a previous rule-change merry-go-round that they themselves are to blame for. In 2004, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) was running for President, and the Governor of Massachusetts was Republican …
