“After extending healthcare coverage to more than 150,000 previously uninsured residents over the past year, Massachusetts health reform took a turn for the worse this month with the Patrick administration’s proposal to limit the state’s Free Care Pool. The Free Care Pool exists to catch those who fall through the cracks of both private and public insurance programs, by reimbursing hospitals and health centers that treat the uninsured without any of the cost barriers — premiums, copayments, deductibles — that leave low-income patients with medical debt, or worse, untreated illnesses and conditions. The administration’s reforms would refuse eligibility for this safety net to everyone who is eligible for the state’s subsidized health plan, Commonwealth Care, along with anyone offered ‘affordable’ insurance by their employer.” [editor’s note: While this person, as “executive director of Mass-Care: The Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer Health Care,” bemoans this trend, it’s merely an acceptance of reality; he’d do far better to fundraise (among private citizens) for donations to help these folks, rather than imposing this “one size fits few” remedy - SAT] (08/30/07)