Jeff's Positions on Key Issues

Please read the information below to learn about Jeff Thielman’s positions on important issues that will be addressed by your next State Representative:

(use the links to the left to see different issues)

Health Care

Universal access to quality health care for all Massachusetts residents will be a top priority if I am elected.

The recently enacted health care law known as Chapter 58 is a significant step towards the goal of universal health insurance coverage. Approximately 300,000 state residents have secured insurance under the law, but many residents still do not have health insurance, and many more struggle to pay healthcare bills.

Chapter 58, however, is currently under-funded and is projected to run a deficit. The Legislature will be challenged in the coming session to find ways to fully fund Chapter 58 and will need to close any loopholes in the law. I am open to increasing the cigarette tax in order to fund Chapter 58 and will look at other ways to fund this important program.

The new law has some flaws that the Legislature will have to address in the coming years. The $295 per year per employee penalty that employers pay for not offering health insurance to employees is low and may be an incentive for companies not to offer health insurance to employees. Some employers have tightened eligibility for the health plans they offer in an attempt to shift employees to the state plan, and others have done the math and determined it is cheaper to pay the penalty than pay the employee share of health insurance. If elected to the Legislature, I look forward to being part of the debate on how best to improve the law.

In order to attain universal access, the state has to address cost and quality issues. As a state representative, I will support:

• Transparent information about the costs and quality of hospitals and healthcare providers. It is very difficult for citizens to collect information comparing the costs and performance records of providers. Transparency will cause consumers to choose low-cost, higher quality providers and pressure providers to deliver care more efficiently.


• Better electronic record-keeping will reduce paperwork, improve care, and protect privacy.


• Hearings by the Division of Insurance when individual and small group premiums increases exceed seven percent in any given year. More information can only help the public and state officials find ways to reduce costs.


• Expanded coverage to young adults who are disproportionately represented among the uninsured population in Massachusetts. While only 12% of the state’s population, young adults ages 19-24 represent a quarter of our uninsured citizens. I will support legislation that maximizes federal law by reimbursing states for half of the cost of covering children and adolescents through age 20 under the MassHealth program. Without health insurance, these young adults rely on the Uncompensated Care Pool; in other words, they cost the state more by not having insurance.


• Increased access to mental health services for our children. It is estimated that 70% of the nearly 150,000 children and adolescents in Massachusetts who need mental health services do not receive them. The state must make it easier for families to access preventive care and early identification and intervention services.


• The health care field is an important part of the economy of Massachusetts. We need to be sure our K-16 educational system gets people excited about the sciences and prepares those who are interested for careers in the medical field.


• Support the Safe Nurse Staffing Legislation, which would set a safe limit on the number of patients a nurse is assigned at one time. Many registered nurses in the state do not work because they are subject to stressful and unsafe working conditions. Passage of this bill will bring many nurses back to our hospitals and will lessen the nursing shortage.
  

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