Massachusetts AG Rejects Universal Coverage Initiative

Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly ruled Sept. 5 that a proposed ballot initiative to "drive" state lawmakers to enact a universal health care system for the state was unconstitutional, the Boston Globe reports. Reilly said that the measure, which would have "deprived" state lawmakers and the governor of taxpayer-funded health insurance benefits "if they failed to enact" a universal health care plan, was "unconstitutional because it would only punish lawmakers rather than propose a constructive law" (Phillips/Mishra, Boston Globe, 9/6). Last year, Massachusetts voters narrowly defeated a similar ballot measure, Question 5, that would have established a universal health care system in the state. Voters rejected Question 5 after the health insurance industry -- which also lobbied Reilly to rule against this year's initiative -- waged a $5 million campaign against the measure in 2000 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/5). Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a Harvard Medical School associate professor who helped draft Question 5 and the initiative that Reilly rejected, said, "We feel the attorney general bowed to the pressure of the HMO industry and their high-priced lawyers. The enrollees whose money was used for this legal battle should ask the HMOs why they're so opposed to coverage for everyone." Woolhandler added that the coalition of physicians and activists that backed the initiative would submit a "retooled version" of the ballot question within the next four years (Boston Globe, 9/6). For further information on state health policy in Massachusetts, visit State Health Facts Online.