Baker’s Trojan horse?
By 
Gov. Charlie Baker has made no secret of his disdain for the way the state’s health connector has been run, both on the campaign trail last year and since the day he took office.
With his background as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim, his view carries some weight. But some advocates see the current budget crisis as an opening for Baker to not only revamp the MassHealth program, but dismantle it and make it harder for people to get and afford comprehensive coverage as envisioned by the adaption of the first-in-the-nation universal health care law.
Baker’s first stab at reining in costs came when he unveiled his budget cuts to address the $768 million deficit with just five months remaining in the fiscal year. Few areas of the budget, save local aid, were spared, though the average cut was 1.9 percent and much of that will be realized through the administration’s hiring freeze, administrative reorganizations, reverting unspent funds back to the general coffers, and redirecting some new revenue sources. The plan outlines about $514 million in cuts and $254 million in revenues.
Out of the reductions, nearly a third will be coming from MassHealth. It is the language of the proposal that has advocates alarmed. In addition to launching an audit to determine eligibility of enrollees, something Baker says hasn’t been done in 15 months despite a federal mandate, the legislation seeks to broaden the executive branch’s power to make changes in eligibility and benefits as well as transfer the power to make cuts from the Legislature to the governor.
Bill Henning, executive director of the Boston Center for Independent Living, tells the Boston Globe that nothing should be sacrosanct in tight fiscal times but he says the cuts go beyond what other programs have to deal with. He adds that altering the statute will have long-range effects beyond budget-balancing.
“To get that authority, unilaterally and into the future, can really alter a system that was set up by advocates, legislators, former governors, and those who are served by the program over a long period of time,” he says.
Administration officials say advocates are overreacting and that the proposal is much more narrowly drawn. A Baker spokesman says the language is intended just for this fiscal year. But Senate President Stan Rosenberg tells the Globe he has similar concerns with the bill and his Ways and Means chairwoman has recommended that the language be dropped. The House is polling members as well and observers say the temperature there is just as cool, making the change unlikely to pass.
Last week, in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Baker said MassHealth was growing at an unsustainable 13 percent rate. He laid out a general outline of what he sees as a viable program and what the state can and can’t handle. But Baker, who so far has had a giddy honeymoon with lawmakers more accustomed to being frozen out by the executive branch, will have to find a way to get legislative leaders to see things his way.
–JACK SULLIVAN
BEACON HILL
Expansion of the earned income tax credit has some powerful backing on Beacon Hill, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Keller@Large discusses the “politics of snow,” from Gov.Charlie Baker‘s insistence that the MBTA run on time and on budget to Mayor Martin Walsh‘s gamble to hold the Patriots rolling rally come hell or high snow banks.
More on the politics of failing to fund transportation, this time from The Metro West Daily News.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
The Fall River City Council has to reconsider purchasing new computers, which they rejected under former Mayor Will Flanagan, as the city’s financial software expires in April and cannot be updated by the company that designed it.
Landlords must use “reasonable care” to keep sidewalks clear of snow, according to a 2010 Supreme Judicial Court decision.
RELIGION
Protesters who have occupied a Scituate church scheduled for more than a decade to try to prevent its closing have worn out their welcome as the Archdiocese of Boston has ordered them to leave by March 9 or face legal action.
OLYMPICS
Globe columnist Joan Vennochi says Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is taking on a lot of risk with the city’s Olympics bid.
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
The chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has ordered the state’s probate judges to not issue same sex marriage licenses, defying a federal court order and setting up a legal showdown similar to the one decades ago involving school integration.
The New York Times has a “getting to know you” interview with Massachusetts new US Rep.Seth Moulton on a variety of topics, including the fact he didn’t like American Sniper. Moulton was the subject of our Conversation in the most recent issue of CommonWealth.
Ferguson, Missouri, is sued for jailing people who can’t afford to pay fines, Governing reports.
ELECTIONS
Mitt Romney isn’t the only failed Bay State POTUS wannabe out there: John Kerry thinking about giving 2016 a go.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Municipal governments and other western Massachusetts organizations band together to establish a wood pellet plant.
EDUCATION
The Globe’s Yvonne Abraham says the state needs more “recovery high schools.”
Student dropout rate declining at North Shore high schools, the Salem News reports.
HEALTH CARE
Overall, Massachusetts has a good track record on immunizations, but the Herald reports dangerous pockets of non- or under-immunized children.
Now that Partners HealthCare has been beaten into submission, Paul Levy calls for Attorney General Maura Healey to take a look at Steward Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Massachusetts health insurers have agreed to cover methadone treatment for opiate withdrawal.
TRANSPORTATION
A UMass Dartmouth student, frustrated by circling parking lots to find a space, won an engineering contest with his design to have drones find empty spaces and lead drivers to them.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The nuclear power plant in Plymouth is back up running and reconnected to the grid more than a week after going off-line because of the blizzard.
Expectations mount for Gov. Baker’s environmental agenda, the Salem News reports.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Even in prison, Whitey Bulger is playing the angles, reports the Globe.
As part of its move out of Dorchester, the Globe signs an agreement to move its printing operation to Taunton.