CIR Leaders Meet With MA Governor Patrick

On March 19, 2009, CIR Regional Vice President Dr. Michael Mazzini and local CIR co-president Dr. Theodore Murray met with Governor Deval Patrick. They were part of a delegation made up of four Massachusetts SEIU locals who were calling on the governor to use federal Medicaid dollars as they were intended: to support safety net hospitals that provide care to Massachusetts residents.

Drs. Murray and Mazzini stressed the critical role played by safety net hospitals, who care for patients that others won’t treat. They explained that although the number of insured has grown, the percentage of patients they see without insurance has actually increased.  

They also pointed out that as the state moves to the question of how to tackle healthcare costs, it is undermining the very  institutions that provide cost-effective primary and mental health care while supporting institutions that profit from expensive tertiary care treatments.

The governor heard what CIR had to say, and the meeting demonstrated the important role of CIR doctors in helping politicians understand what's at stake for patients.

A week later, Gov. Patrick announced that federal stimulus money would be directed toward Cambridge and BMC ($64 million now and $80 million in FY 2010). This is good news for this year, but the hospitals are going to need a much bigger state commitment to avoid more serious cuts to services and staff. With that in mind, CIR members were gearing up to rally at the State House on April 15 to protest any further cuts to safety net hospitals.