Mass. appeal: A plan to cover the uninsured

As Cover the Uninsured Week kicks off, one state takes a giant step toward solving the problem of Americans who lack health insurance.

Editorial. May 1, 2006.

The calendar has again turned to Cover the Uninsured Week -- this year May 1-7 -- spearheaded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with 17 other major organizations and foundations, including the AMA. Since 2003, this event has put a much-needed spotlight on the biggest public health crisis in America today: the rising ranks of the uninsured.

The AMA has been a supporter of Cover the Uninsured Week from the beginning, a fitting partnership given that event's goal is also a key element of the Association's health care advocacy agenda. This year, as in the past, there will be numerous events around the country -- including many sponsored by the AMA's Medical Student Section -- designed to raise awareness of the problem of 46 million Americans without health insurance. An important focus will be on those programs that already exist, such as state-funded child health insurance, that the uninsured can turn to in seeking care.

A major milestone in that regard occurred just about a month before Cover the Uninsured Week. The Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill with a goal of enabling every resident in the state to have health insurance. And it does so in a way that takes into account much of what the AMA has proposed for solving the uninsured problem -- a bottom-up, consumer-driven system, rather than a top-down, government-imposed solution.