Congress to hear from expert panel WEDNESDAY, 2 PM

What

A Congressional forum organized by the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare. In the last two decades more than a half dozen state health reform acts have attempted to provide universal healthcare coverage. Critical analysis of these models is highly significant to the national reform debate. The February 25 forum will consider the most recent state healthcare overhaul this country has seen. What can we learn from Massachusetts and is it a model for national health policy?

The "Massachusetts model" includes many of the policy features currently being considered in national healthcare reform, including individual mandates, subsidized private insurance for low-income individuals, employer "play or pay" provisions, and the creation of an insurance exchange designed to promote competition and encourage insurers to offer adequate and affordable coverage. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney (4/15/06) put it this way: "Who would have thought that Massachusetts …would take a page out of the Newt Gingrich playbook for healthcare reform? Forcing uninsured workers to purchase healthcare coverage or face higher taxes and fines is the cornerstone of Mr. Gingrich's healthcare reform proposals. And it is unconscionable that Massachusetts has adopted this misguided individual mandate."

In order to provide a multifaceted view of the Massachusetts reform, the forum will follow the format of a congressional hearing. Rep. Eric Massa [NY-29] will chair the forum. Panelists will present testimony, followed by questions from members of Congress, staff, and the public.

Who

David Himmelstein, MD, Cambridge Hospital physician, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School

Sandy Eaton, RN, Massachusetts Nurses Association

Jamie Eldridge, Massachusetts state senator

Peter Knowlton, president, United Electrical Workers Northeast Region

Mary Ford, former mayor of Northampton and human services manager

Robert Gaw, president, National Association of Socially Responsible Organizations, health benefits administrator

Arthur MacEwan, Ph.D., professor of economics, University of Massachusetts, Boston

When

2:00 pm, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009

Where

2226 Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

The Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare is a coalition of doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers; labor unions; nonprofit agencies; reform advocates and faith-based organizations working to achieve guaranteed comprehensive, high quality, and affordable healthcare coverage for everyone. The coalition specifically advocates for a publicly funded and privately delivered national healthcare system structured around a single-payer financing mechanism.

California Nurses Association