O’Brien Wins Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial Primary

Massachusetts primary voters on Sept. 17 selected state Treasurer Shannon O'Brien as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, the first woman ever nominated for governor by a major party in the state, the Boston Globe reports (Phillips, Boston Globe, 9/18). With 91% of precincts reporting, O'Brien had 33% of the votes, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich had 25%, state Senate President Thomas Birmingham had 24%, and former state Sen. Warren Tolman had 18% (Guarino, Boston Herald, 9/18). As part of her campaign, O'Brien has advocated creating a state office of women's health policy, studying disparities in health care for minorities and implementing a tiered drug plan to purchase Medicaid beneficiaries' medications. Birmingham proposed measures that would "smooth ... glitches" in the state's mental health system and revive stalled initiatives to move people with mental illnesses out of institutions and into community care settings (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/14). Birmingham also supported legislation that would create a state prescription drug bulk purchasing law (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/16). Reich proposed allowing uninsured residents to purchase health coverage through a state plan, expanding disease management programs, increasing state bulk purchasing of prescription drugs, restoring Medicaid eligibility for 50,000 residents who will lose coverage as a result of budget cuts and providing at-home care rather than nursing home care for Medicaid beneficiaries (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/13). Tolman advocated the creation of a universal health care system that would require employers and their workers to make direct contributions to the new plan, which would replace MassHealth, the state's Medicaid and CHIP program (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/29). O'Brien will face Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney in the general election. Romney has said he would institute a Medicaid copayment based on a sliding income scale, give consumers "health guides" to help them compare health costs, create a "health hotline" to eliminate unnecessary trips to the doctor and make the state Health and Human Services Department more "user-friendly." Romney has also proposed excluding punitive damages from awards in medical malpractice lawsuits and asking the federal government to increase the state's Medicaid reimbursement rate (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/7).

Reno Concedes Florida Primary
In other election news, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno on Sept. 17 conceded the Florida Democratic nomination for governor to political newcomer Bill McBride, the Miami Herald reports. After a week of "scouring for missed votes" in South Florida, Reno gained only 3,402 votes in Miami-Dade, Broward and several other counties, not enough to overcome McBride's margin of 8,196 votes (Clark/Wallsten, Miami Herald, 9/18). As part of her platform, Reno proposed a new state prescription drug discount program for seniors modeled after similar programs in Maine and Michigan. The program would have given enrolled seniors up to a 65% discount on prescription drugs at participating pharmacies, and the state would have paid drugstores the difference and been reimbursed by drug companies. Seniors would have paid a one-time membership fee of up to $25. Reno also proposed raising the income eligibility limit for the state's CHIP program, Florida KidCare, from 200% of the federal poverty level to 300%, or from an annual income of $36,200 to an income of $54,000 for a family of four (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/13). McBride will face Gov. Jeb Bush (R) in the general election (Miami Herald, 9/18).