Today according to Matt Murphy of the State House News Service the Governor walked into the Press Room at the State house and got serious.
BOSTON - Gov. Deval L. Patrick dialed up his pressure on lawmakers Friday to act on health care cost legislation, requesting a commitment from House and Senate leadership to vote on a bill in January and saying he’s discussed scaling up cost control strategies nationally with Obama administration officials.
"The building is full of good intentions. We need action,” Patrick said during an interview, making a rare and impromptu visit to the press Friday morning before a meeting with his Cabinet.
Later a reaction from the House.....
“Chairman Walsh and the joint committee are in the midst of crafting a bill, which the Speaker expects to be released from the committee later in the legislative session,” the statement said. Walsh said he was not sure when a bill might be ready for full consideration in the House.“We’re not ready. It’s a complicated issue. It affects people’s health and our largest employer. It’s not something you do quickly. I think he would have as strong a reaction if we did something that had an adverse effect,” Walsh said. Describing a process that has involved five public hearings, visits to 35 hospitals and over 400 meetings with consumers and stakeholders, Walsh said there was “no chance” a bill would come out of his committee before Thanksgiving and the Legislature’s winter recess, and said it “remains to be seen” if the bill can be done in January.
and from the Senate
Committee co-chairman Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, said earlier this month that it would be “difficult” to get a health care payment reform bill done this year.“I think it’d be difficult to get it done this calendar year. I’m hoping that we can get something out, at least on the table,” he said.
Asked whether the Senate might look to take a bill up before the House, Moore said, “We may still do that.” “I’m still hopeful the committee’s going to produce something. It’s a very complex bill and the governor’s bill doesn’t deal with it with all the complexities that are involved,” Moore said.
Oh Dear.
Judy Meredith and Lew Finfer are pooling their collective organizing, advocacy, and leadership experiences to form the Massachusetts Policy and Organizing Leadership Training Academy. There's a wealth of knowledge to pass on to the next group of organizers and advocates and the current group of aspiring leaders.