At a recent stop in the state to (supposedly) raise money for Gov. Deval Patrick, President Obama deftly avoided discussion of the fierce healthcare reform debate. One can assume, however, that discussions of the Massachusetts pilot program in healthcare access for all occurred privately. And, you can bet that those discussions involved setting a PR agenda to convince skeptical policy wonks that a little pre-emptive damage control is in order if Obama wants to lead by Patrick’s example with respect to reform legislation.

“We did access before costs,” [Gov. Deval] Patrick, 53, said. A federal plan “will have to do it at the same time.”

[Gov.] Patrick said he has been in close contact with the White House and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the health-care overhaul push, advising them on how to “engage the private market and get them to play fair,” the governor said.

Massachusetts rode the universal coverage wave and is currently overseeing an explosion in health costs and spending to maintain it. Clearly, that agenda is not in Obama’s (or the nation’s) best interest. For all of the touting of the state’s (mis)fortunes in its first-in-the-nation status as a bellwhether for reform, there is also enough reality to go around as well. Tax subsidies, tax penalties, and Medicaid expansions don’t come cheaply.  Any connection to a national agenda on reform to the Massachusetts model will have to be made responsibly and lucidly.

Related Posts Within Doctor Pundit:

1. Report: Mass. Universal Healthcare Coverage Law an Essential Failure In anticipation of President Obama’s remarks tonight concerning the stimulus...
2. Mass. Governor Announces Plan to Help Small Business in State’s Turbulent Universal Coverage Environment One thing that Massachusetts has learned from its experience as...
3. Mass. Governor Proposes Health Cost Veto In the Massachusetts healthcare economy, the balance between employer, employee...
4. Mass. Study Shows No Benefit to State’s Insured with Respect to Costs of Coverage and Affordability One of the fundamentals of healthcare reform is applying the...
5. Primary Care Struggles to Stay Apace of Care Demand Amid Universal Coverage in Mass. The predicted efflux of primary care physicians in Massachusetts, as...