One of the proposed measures being discussed in this years Massachusetts constitutional convention is an amendment on healthcare that is due to be decided on by the legislative session. The amendment should be of great interest to anyone involved in healthcare. It would ensure the right of every state resident to comprehensive and affordable health insurance including medical care, mental health care, and prescription drugs. As you probably already know, many individuals do not have access to such care.

The amendment is a citizen’s petition initiative. This push for an amendment is just the latest effort of a collection of various healthcare providers committed to ensuring universal access to care. You can learn more about the amendment and campaign at www.healthcareformass.org. A collection of 74,000 voter signatures last year placed the amendment before the state legislature. The senate voted unanimously on March 4th to place the amendment in this year’s constitutional convention. Following this success, the campaign is now focusing on gaining support of both houses of the legislature. Upon legislative approval, a public vote would determine if the amendment would become reality. HMS should be proud that the group that raised the largest number of signatures in the first phase of the constitutional process consisted of HMS students that visited polling sites throughout Boston on a cold and rainy day last fall. That action was organized by HMS first-years Andrew Singer and Andrew Herring.

Financial barriers should not deny an individual’s access to healthcare, but they do under the current system. Every year, the cost of medical care in the United States continues to surge upward. Increasing premiums force those without coverage through employment to minimize or eliminate their policies. Budgetary concerns lead to cuts that also negatively impact the health of selected segments of the population. For example, in 2003, about 10,000 legal immigrants lost their Medicaid coverage in order to save $15 million toward the state budget. But such healthcare problems don’t just affect isolated segments of the population. There are 575,852 nonelderly uninsured in Massachusetts, and 84% come from a working household. Despite strong efforts to protect children, 6% of children in Massachusetts remain uninsured. In fact, 1 out of every 10 Massachusetts residents is uninsured. This is unacceptable.

Besides the obvious humanitarian goals of universal healthcare, there are the related economic benefits that such a plan entails. Many arguments against universal healthcare center on the financial implications of the system, particularly in the face of the current state budget troubles. However, these arguments ignore the benefits of greatly diminishing the vast administrative costs of the current insurance system and reducing the wasteful emergency costs associated with absent preventative care. Over $16 billion (39%) of annual healthcare spending in Massachusetts goes to administrative costs. The money to pay for universal coverage is already in the system, but it isn’t going to patient care. Massachusetts also spends $1 billion annually for avoidable hospitalizations of uninsured residents.

The constitutional process requires two legislative votes, one this year and another next year, before the amendment is presented to the public for ratification. A coordinated effort on the part of interested medical students has the potential to influence the outcome of this next stage of the process just as our past actions led to concrete results. In order to produce the most results with the limited time that each of us can devote to this endeavor, a meeting is being arranged during which interested individuals can learn about the current state of planning and offer there own suggestions. There are multiple areas of action that the campaign is approaching, including collecting personal and organizational endorsements, lobbying swing legislators, and conducting a voter identification campaign in Boston neighborhoods.

In determining the best application of our collective energy, we have been in contact with the Ad Hoc Committee to Defend Healthcare, which took part in drafting the amendment. They are organizing support for an upcoming hearing of several legislative committees reviewing the amendment. Anyone interested in taking part in this truly historic campaign is encouraged to come to a planning meeting this Wednesday at 12:30, location TBA.