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Broad public testimony urges Massachusetts to adopt state Medicare-for-all trust
Summary
Dozens of advocates, health professionals and municipal leaders testified in favor of H1405/S860, saying single-payer would cut administrative waste, stabilize hospitals and relieve municipal and family budgets; speakers urged the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing to report the bills favorably.
Dozens of health workers, municipal officials, patient advocates and clinicians told the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing that Massachusetts should adopt H1405/S860, legislation to establish a Massachusetts health care trust and a single-payer Medicare-for-all system.
Supporters said the state’s current mix of private insurance, employer plans and public programs produces high administrative costs, creates underinsurance and contributes to hospital closures across the Commonwealth. "Medicare for all single payer is the most important anti-poverty legislation we can pass," said Marge Cohen, a physician and member of Physicians for a National Health Program, urging the committee to move the bills forward.
Advocates pointed to multiple effects they said would follow from the trust: negotiated drug and procedure pricing, elimination of premiums and cost-sharing, a stable public…
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