Health care is a fundamental human right
and must be accessible for all.
The Massachusetts
Democratic Party will continue to work aggressively
to attain a single payer health care system that provides
affordable, high-quality health care coverage for all families
and individuals in this state.
We remain committed
to protecting and expanding state and federal government
programs that ensure health care for the uninsured. Comprehensive
health care reform is the only way to ensure that affordable
health care for all can become a reality.
We believe it is equally
important to work with Congress and the Legislature
to make prescription drugs more affordable for all, including
as a benefit of Medicare.
We support the state's
Patients Bill of Rights Act of 2000, which guarantees
important new protections in state-regulated HMO health
plans, such as the right to appeal denial of care.
We believe that this
state's world class medical and world renowned teaching
hospitals and universities, together with leading edge biotechnology
and medical device industries, are critical to our economy
and to the health of our citizens. We are deeply concerned
about the severe financial difficulties facing our teaching
and community hospitals, community health centers, not-for-profit
health plans and other health-related organizations and
professionals. We strongly support efforts to reverse misguided
reductions under the federal Balanced Budget Act of 1997
which have under-funded graduate medical education and reimbursements
to these facilities.
We seek vigorous enforcement
of new requirements subjecting proposed takeovers
of not-for-profit hospitals and health plans by for-profit
corporations to public scrutiny.
We strongly endorse
the state's Mental Health Parity Law adopted in 2000,
while acknowledging the difficulty many people experience
in obtaining adequate treatment of mental health conditions.
The state must establish a coordinated program with human
service agencies to address the increase in the mental health
needs of children and adolescents. The Party also supports
the full implementation of mental health policies which
will provide emergency care, family support and housing
to our citizens with chronic mental health disorders.
We recognize that
Roe v. Wade is the law of the land and oppose any
constitutional amendment, law or regulation to restrict
or overturn that decision. We believe that contraceptive
drugs and devices should be a covered benefit of health
insurance plans..