Petition Opposing the Inadequate Health Policies Offered by the Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector


We write to express concern about the inadequate health plans recently endorsed by The Connector, the agency overseeing our state's health reform. Hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents will soon be required to purchase these policies, which provide little protection against financial ruin due to illness.

These skimpy policies are part of a national trend towards "Consumer Driven Healthcare" (CDH). CDH plans provide catastrophic coverage, but leave patients responsible for day-to-day health care costs. Nationally, 5% of employers now offer only CDH plans, a number expected to nearly double next year. In Boston, The Connector is set to compel a 56 year old making $30,000 to spend $4,164 annually for the lowest cost policy. This coverage requires a patient to pay a $2,000 deductible before insurance kicks in, plus coinsurance of 20% for hospital bills and $25 for each office visit even after the deductible is met. For most with such coverage, a serious illness would lead to bankruptcy.

CDH plans carry lower premiums, and proponents argue that CDH gives consumers more responsibility for their health spending, reducing unnecessary care and costs. But such plans place steep financial barriers between patients and essential services, and particularly discourage preventive and primary care. High deductible plans are simply too risky for the low to middle income patients who will be forced into such coverage under the Massachusetts reform.

Moreover, such policies offer little hope of containing costs in the long run. As Dr. Donald Berwick, a leader in quality improvement, said in a recent interview:

"I do not believe that making the individual American patient more 'cost sensitive' has any rationale in science, ethics or evidence. It will fail and it will fail miserably. It is a displacement of responsibility for changing the system. You know, if CalPERS or Xerox or GE can't change care through using its purchasing power, then I absolutely promise you that Mrs. Jones can't."


Our patients are being forced into expensive yet inadequate coverage because Massachusetts' health reform fails to eliminate the huge bureaucratic waste associated with private insurance. In contrast, a single payer reform could slash insurance bureaucracy and administrative waste - estimated at $11.2 billion annually in Massachusetts. These savings could easily cover the uninsured and upgrade care for the rest of our patients - allowing first dollar coverage for all in the Commonwealth. Two-thirds of Massachusetts doctors support such reform (according to a survey in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2003).

Sincerely,

Marcia Angell, MD
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Medical School, Former Editor-in-Chief, NEJM
Simon Ahtaridis, MD
Chief Medical Resident, Cambridge Hospital
David Himmelstein, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Co-Founder, PNHP
Michael Hochman, MD
Medicine Resident, Cambridge Hospital
Susanne King, MD
Private Practice Physician, Berkshires
Bernard Lown, MD
Professor Emeritus, Harvard School of Public Health, Nobel Laureate
Arnold Relman, MD
Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, Former Editor-in-Chief, NEJM
Julius Richmond, MD
Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, Former U.S. Surgeon General
Jeffrey Scavron, MD
Medical Director, Brightwood Health Center
Julie Silverhart, MD
Geriatrics Fellow, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Andrew Wilper, MD
Medicine Fellow, Harvard Medical School
Steffie Woolhandler, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Co-Founder, PNHP

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0-25 of 712 signatures
Number Date Name Location
712 August 02, 2009 florence pottle shrewsbury
711 July 28, 2009 Melanie Jean newton
710 July 08, 2009 Linda Shellmer-klemme pembroke
709 December 23, 2008 Peter Stott Dorchester
708 August 27, 2008 David Diamond Cambridge
707 January 18, 2008 Christine Woltag Wilmington
706 January 16, 2008 Louise Parker Cambridge
705 January 03, 2008 Barbara Sullivan Wilmington
704 January 03, 2008 Barbara Sullivan Wilmington
703 December 31, 2007 Lawrence Sheridan North Chelmsford
702 December 09, 2007 Lawrence Sheridan North Chelmsford
701 November 17, 2007 Lawrence Sheridan North Chelmsford
700 November 11, 2007 John Marengo Leicester
699 August 27, 2007 Susan Mulcahy Shrewsbury
698 August 25, 2007 Donna Kelly-Williams Arlington
697 August 17, 2007 Talia Young Philadelphia, PA
696 August 15, 2007 Diane Harris Hanover
695 August 05, 2007 Nancy Brasmer Manteca, Ca.
694 August 04, 2007 Wesley Ratko Philadelphia
693 August 04, 2007 Jin Hee Lee New York
692 August 03, 2007 William Powers Sacramento, CA
691 August 03, 2007 William Powers Sacramento, CA
690 August 02, 2007 Deborah LeVeen Berkeley
689 August 02, 2007 Karen Elcaness San Francisco, CA
688 August 02, 2007 Stephanie Luce Amherst
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