Open Letter to Senator Kennedy from Mass. Physicians Dear Senator Kennedy: We understand that you are working energetically on a comprehensive health care reform bill. We write as Massachusetts physicians and as your constituents who have experienced firsthand the consequences of our state’s health care reform. We seek to alert you to the defects in the Massachusetts approach and to advise that you push, instead, for a single-payer reform. At certain junctures in history, the obstacles of the past melt in the heat of a rising popular demand for change. Now is such a time. You once proudly described yourself as “an old single-payer advocate,” and you have previously introduced model single-payer health reform legislation. We urge you to return to that vision now when your tremendous influence could make this truly just and practical plan a reality. Please consider the simplicity, cost effectiveness and humanity of a single-payer plan, which could be implemented comparatively easily like traditional Medicare. Any plan that retains private insurers will add layers of bureaucracy and fail to control costs, dooming the noble effort to assure good care for all. The Massachusetts reform is illustrative of these problems. Costs have skyrocketed – rising far faster than anticipated. Yet hundreds of thousands remain uninsured and the number of patients requiring free care has fallen by only a third. Surveys show that one of every seven Massachusetts residents still can’t afford the care they need, and among patients directly affected by the new law, more say it has hurt than helped them. We fear that worse is just around the corner; money needed to fund the reform is being drained from safety-net providers who still carry a heavy burden of care for the uninsured and underinsured. We ask that you introduce in the Senate legislation modeled on H.R. 676, which gained the support of 94 representatives in 110th Congress, and which has the backing of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, hundreds of unions, and thousands of physicians. We urge you to be our Tommy Douglas – the founder of Canada’s national health program, who according to surveys remains the most beloved of all Canadians. Surely we deserve the health benefits that are guaranteed in every other developed nation – all medically necessary care, and freedom from the fear of economic ruin due to illness. Only a move to single payer can cut bureaucratic waste, allowing an affordable expansion of care. We must not squander the opportunity of this momentous time. With your experience and stature you are uniquely able to ensure that generations to come will enjoy the legacy of health care as a human right. Leon Eisenberg, MD Professor of Social Medicine Emeritus, Harvard Medical School Michael Kaplan, MD Family Physician, Lee Family Practice Susanne L. King, MD Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Lenox Bernard Lown, MD Nobel Laureate Professor Emeritus, Harvard School of Public Health Rachel Nardin, MD Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center James Recht, MD Staff Psychiatrist, Cambridge Health Alliance Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Jill B. Schiff, MD Karen Victor, MD Seward B. Rutkove, MD Brookline, MA Brookline, MA Boston, MA Ira Mintzer, MD Thomas F. Plaut, MSW Ashley Coopland Newton Center, MA Amherst, MA Longmeadow, MA David Bor, MD Martin I. Broder, MD Ante Lundberg Cambridge, MA Springfield, MA Auburndale, MA Mark P. Eisenberg, MD Barbara Ogur, MD Charlestown, MA Cambridge, MA Henry W. Rosenberg, MD Northampton, MA Barbara J Katz, MD Richard Pels, MD Jamaica Plain, MA Newton, MA Anthony Schlaff Brookline, MA Roger Spingarn, MD Alan Meyers, MD, MPH Newton Centre, MA Cambridge, MA Alan Drabkin Boston, MA David M. Keller, MD Mardge Cohen Webster, MA Jamaica Plain, MA Julie Silberman, MD Cambridge, MA John Jainchill, MD Michael L. Glenn, MD Brookline, MA Medford, MA Stephen A. Eipper, MD Deerfield, MA Richard C. Evans, MD Joseph McCabe Great Barrington, MA Cambridge, MA Martha A. Nathan, MD Springfield, MA Michael D'Alessandro, MD Janet R. Magnani South Hadley, MA Mary Aileen Dame, MD Ashland, MA Naomi Barbara Dworkin Medford, MA Belmont, MA Thomas C. Sterne David Kraft, MD, MPH George Hardman, MD Chelsea, MA Amherst, MA Sherborn, MA Bonnie Norton, MD Lindsey C. Kiser, MD N. Thorne Griscom Jamaica Plain, MA Needham Heights, MA Lexington, MA Joel Snider, MD Robert McKersie, MD Barry Poret Cambridge, MA Boxford, MA Turners Falls, MA David J. Geltman, MD Elizabeth Kissinger, MD Shelly Berkowitz, MD Jamaica Plain, MA Cambridge, MA Northampton, MA Ronald D. Schwartz Charles D. Howell Richard Bail Fall River, MA Westwood, MA Watertown, MA John V. Walsh Patricia Downs, MD Robert A. Petersen, MD Cambridge, MA Brookline, MA Boston, MA Gerald Hass Leslye Heilig, MD Rachel Seidel Boston, MA Great Barrington, MA Cambridge, MA Peter V. Tishler, MD Victor Gurewich, MD Carol Langford, MD Plymouth, MA Cambridge, MA Duxbury, MA Jayne Doherty, MD O'Malley Brian Ronald B. Durning Lexington, MA Provincetown, MA Adams, MA Russell Phillips Max O'Donnell Meredith Martin, MD Newton, MA Boston, MA Framingham, MA Donna Ruth Cooper, MD Eugene J. Fierman, MD Robert D. Basow, MD Provincetown, MA Brookline, MA Hopkington, MA Steven Atlas, MD George Milowe, MD Walter J. Alt Cambridge, MA Malden, MA Amesbury, MA George Ellsworth Jeremiah Schuur, MD Patricia Raney Brookline, MA Cambridge, MA Boston, MA Joel E. Rosen, MD Joellen W. Hawkins Donnah Nickerson-Reti, MD Northampton, MA Auburndale, MA Lexington, MA Charles Welch, MD Lucy Candib, MD David Kaufman, MD Cambridge, MA Worcester, MA Florence, MA Theodore M. Shoemaker, MD Robert Jandl Richard Oliver Heck, MD Boylston, MA North Adams, MA Great Barrington, MA Gordon Winchell, MD Richard Balaban, MD Hugh S. Fulmer Lincoln, MA Brookline, MA Northboro, MA Priscilla P. Shaheen, RN Walter Gamble, MD Alexandra K. Rolde Methuen, MA Brookline, MA Weston, MA J Wesley Boyd, MD, PhD Bruce Hurter, MD Paul Vinger, MD Cambridge, MA Shrewbury, MA Concord, MA John F. Mueller Stanley Kilty, MD Warnie L. Webster Rochester, MA Newburyport, MA Cambridge, MA Bruce L. Bender Robert Sumner, MD Aubrey Milunsky Boylston, MA Marlborough, MA Boston, MA Anthony J. Costello Jessica R. Roth, MD Andreas Laddis, MD Jefferson, MA Cambridge, MA Shrewsbury, MA Wayne A. Miller Lenard Lesser, MD Timothy Davis West Barnstable, MA Boston, MA Medfield, MA Masha J. Etkin, MD David Lotto, MD Jeffrey Geller, MD Brookline, MA Pittsfield, MA Worcester, MA Sylvia A. Fine, MD Carolyn Laura Augart, MD Karen E. Lasser Somerville, MA Lawrence, MA Chestnut Hill, MA Roger R. Jean-Charles Jennifer Brody, MD Daniel P. Alford, MD Boston, MA Brighton, MA Needham, MA Cathy L. Vanden Heuvel Winfred del Mundo, MD Carl A. Soderland Brookline, MA Milton, MA Ipswich, MA James R. Garb Leo Parnes, MD Leslie Dubinsky Yarmouth Port, MA Newton, MA Palmer, MA Melvin Chalfen, MD Jocelyne Caplow, MD Rona Klein, MD Lexington, MA Newton Centre, MA Boston, MA Thomas A. Johnson, MD Paul Allen, MD Milton Hirshberg, MD Worcester, MA Lexington, MA South Harwich, MA Daniel Kamin Michael A. Lambert, MD Suzanne Stoterau Somerville, MA Brookline, MA Lincoln, MA Wayne Altman, MD Judith Herman, MD Christina Wai, MD Woburn, MA Cambridge, MA Boston, MA Richard A. Parker, MD Donald L. Slovin, MD James Kolb, MD Newton Highlands, MA Sharon, MA Belmont, MA Jeanette Callahan, MD Renee McKinney, MD Maureen McDonald Roxbury, MA Boston, MA Marshfield, MA Daniel W. Zinn, MD Roberta Berrien Ron Distajo, MD Greenfield, MA Dennis, MA Cambridge, MA Robert Horowitz, MD Karen Lasser, MD David S. Lee, MD Amherst, MA Cambridge, MA Mansfield, MA Edward Lowenstein, MD Saverio Maviglia, MD Giulia Scarantino Cambridge, MA Medfield, MA Methuen, MA Douglas P. Kiel David Remis, MD Wilsa J. Ryder, MD Boston, MA Springfield, MA Provincetown, MA Bruce Weinraub Jody Naimark, MD Naomi Rappaport Northhampton, MA Winchester, MA New Bedford, MA John F. Crigler, Jr. Michael Hochman, MD Andrew Linsenmeyer Wellesley, MA Boston, MA Boston, MA Michael J. Abele, MD Vaughn Harding Geraldine Zagarella, MD Lowell, MA Hyannis, MA Jamaica Plain, MA David W. Bates, MD Victoria Merson Pickwick, RN Robert Berger Watertown, MA Siasconset, MA Brookline, MA Richard McGinn, MD Timothy Macchio Neil Kudler Greenfield, MA Boston, MA Springfield, MA Brenda L. Johnson, MD, MA Gale Maynard Judith Goldberg, MD Winchester, MA Melrose, MA Wayland, MA Donald Green, MD Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien, RN Elise Foster, MD Reading, MA Haverhill, MA Beverly, MA Padma Balasubramanian, MD Carol MacDougall, RN Malachy Shaw-Jones Newton, MA Wilmington, MA Arlington, MA Leonard W. Kaplan, MD Adam Field Sally Weylman Brookline, MA Boston, MA Cambridge, MA Andrew Perry Richard Kofler Laurel Davis-Delano Newton, MA Amherst, MA Northampton, MA Harold W. Forbes Michelle Kofler Arlington, MA South Deerfield, MA Paul Dixon Candace Foster, MD Lincoln, MA Orleans, MA Lisa Dobberteen, MD Edythe Cox Cambridge, MA Hingham, MA An Sokolovksa Cambridge, MA Jean Grossholtz Leena Gandhi, MD, PhD South Hadley, MA Boston, MA Kate Koplan, MD Brookline, MA Kathryn Hunt Jay Caplan Newton, MA Whatley, MA William V Dewhirst, MD Pittsfield, MA Jeffrey Rivard Kelsey L. Dicker Natick, MA Quincy, MA Cheryl Hamlin, MD Arlington, MA Anne Warren Ann Roy Boston, MA Southampton, MA Gordon Fellman Cambridge, MA Betty Munson Stephen Hoy Cambridge, MA Beverly, MA William Schmitt, MD Cambridge, MA Paul McBratney-Owen Donald Slovin, MD Cambridge, MA Sharon, MA Rosemary Kofler, RN Amherst, MA Kimberly Sue, MD, PhD Stanley Shapshay, MD Cambridge, MA Richmond, MA Wallace & Clare Ritchie Salem, MA David Larrabee, MD Marcia Angell Charlton, MA Cambridge, MA Michael D'Intinosanto, RN Winchendon, MA Richard Wein, MD Leonardo Velazquez Boston, MA N. Dartmouth, MA Michelle Hauser, MD Boston, MA Rebecca Rogers, MS Leonardo J. Velazquez N. Dartmouth, MA Brookline, MA Tom Hagamen Sandeep Kumar, MD William Taylor, MD Deerfield, MA Newton, MA Newton, MA Gertrude Bull Michael Alexander Alexandra Golby, MD East Falmouth, MA Boston, MA Boston, MA Jeffrey Gill Rachel Broudy Greg Lipshutz, MD Shirley, MA Cambridge, MA Newton, MA Lisa Carlson, MD Brian Green Gregory Hagan, MD Melrose, MA Somerville, MA Somerville, MA Wendell D. Wyatt, MD Monica Demasi, MD Maurice Martin, MD Greenfield, MA Somerville, MA Somerville, MA Richard Corkey, MD Ruth Barron Pieter Cohen Boston, MA Cambridge, MA Brookline, MA Ramon Greenberg, MD Gerard Coste Theodore Murray, MD Jamaica Plain, MA Lexington, MA Somerville, MA Larissa Lucas, MD Bari Brodsky Karen Wood, MD Salem, MA Cambridge, MA Chestnut Hill, MA Phil Wilson David Baron, MD William Kinsey, MD Northampton, MA Lexington, MA Cambridge, MA Jay M. Pomerantz, MD Kirsten Meisinger, MD J. Elliott Taylor, MD Longmeadow, MA Somerville, MA Falmouth, MA Jerry Durbin Megan Callahan James Peterson Needham, MA Cambridge, MA Adams, MA Jan Schwaner, MD Martha Sweezy Barry Saver Wellesley Hills, MA Cambridge, MA Worcester, MA Sally Thompson, MD Jane Fogg, MD Charles Taylor, MD Acton, MA Needham, MA Cambridge, MA Lauri Robertson, MD Donna Mathias, MD Susan Racine, MD Nantucket, MA Brookline, MA West Roxbury, MA Sarah Minden Karina Lund, MD Robert P. Marlin, MD Boston, MA Quincy, MA Arlington, MA Kirsten Austad Mary McCormick, MD Karin Hemmingsen, MD Boston, MA North Andover, MA Attleboro, MA Nancy Rappaport Melissa Bartick Richard Balaban, MD Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Somervilled, MA Elinor Kelliher, MD Shahram Khoshbin, MD Julia Ragland West Springfield, MA Boston, MA Needham, MA Michael Garrity, MD Barbara Dworetzky Allen Ross, MD Charlestown, MA West Roxbury, MA Montague, MA Kimberly Sue, MD, PhD Christopher Shanahan Erik Deede, MD Cambridge, MA West Roxbury, MA Sudbury, MA John Jewett Rajani LaRocca, MD John Hanson Jamaica Plain, MA Charlestown, MA Chicago, IL Milena Pavlova Barry Mills Deborah Wolozin, PhD Boston, MA Brighton, MA Sudbury, MA Edward Bromfield, MD Michael Rich, MD Sarah Goff, MD Newton, MA Boston, MA Springfield, MA Robert Shmerling Saverio Maviglia, MD Rosemary Duda, MD Boston, MA Medfield, MA Boston, MA Diane London, MD Elizabeth Ross, MD Alonzo Shirin, MD, MPH Dover, MA Boston, MA Brookline, MA Elizabeth Kass, MD John Jewett Hanni Stoklosa, MS Brookline, MA Jamaica Plain, MA Arlington, MA Howard Wolpert Jan Foose Brian Block, MS Brookline, MA Gt. Barrington, MA Brookline, MA Reisa Sperling, MD Robert Lange Mike Matergia, MS Boston, MA Wayland, MA Boston, MA Kelly Ford, MD Richard Sens, MD George Corey, MD Boston, MA Cambridge, MA West Hatfield, MA Saurabh Saluja, MD Nance Goldstein, PhD Anne Weaver, MD Boston, MA Cambridge, MA Montague, MA John Stoeckle, MD Eve Spangler Alan Berkenwald, MD Winchester,, MA Newton, MA Florence, MA Christopher Nauman, MD Sarah Weaver Tereza Jaquez Brockton, MA North Reading, MA Stoneham, MA Matthew Ehrlich, MD Seth Gale, MD Shonali Saha Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Somerville, MA Lee Cranberg, MD Melissa Greenspan, MD Mirna Mejia Chestnut Hill, MA Florence, MA SOMERVILLE, MA Michael Barza, MD Jacquelyn Wolf, PhD Nicholas Carson, MD Chestnut Hill, MA Amherst, MA Somerville, MA Corey Fehnel, MD Barry Levy, PhD Catianne Dias Boston, MA Amherst, MA Somerville, MA Louis Caplan, MD William Cutler, MD Charlotte Golden Chestnut hill, MA Leeds, MA West Roxbury, MA Lynne Brodsky, MD Catherine Horwitz, MD Richard Pels, MD Winchester, MA Boston, MA Newton, MA Peter Cohen Joel Alpert, MD Huiyuan Lightner Newton, MA Boston, MA Northborough, MA Robert Reece, MD Ellen Z. Kaufman Miriam Goldfarb, MD North Falmouth, MA Northampton, MA Cambridge, MA Stephen Pinals, MD Sarah Crane, MD Pattie Heyman Framingham, MA Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Michael Williams Zarpash Babar, MD Jacqueline Bisbee Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Charlestown, MA Heidi Ashih, MD, PhD Goldie Eder David Fish, MD Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Boston, MA Rachel Wheeler Ruth Gerson, MD Judith Casarella Concord, MA Cambridge, MA Lincoln, MA David Himmelstein Andrea Gordon, MD Josephine Brown Cambridge, MA Melrose, MA Cambridge, MA Thomas Myers Pedro M. Barbosa Paula Cushner, RN Somerville, MA Arlington, MA Weymouth, MA Cheryl Sneed Albert H Fine, MD Xenia Johnson, MD Malden, MA Revere, MA Cambridge, MA Emily Straus Evan Waldheter Marshall Forstein, MD Somerville, MA Cambridge, MA Jamaica Plain, MA Melanie Brunt, MD, MPH Chestnut Hill, MA Paige Katzenstein Catherine Pemberton Beverly, MA Cambridge, MA Susan Grosdov Saugus, MA Margaret Buckley, RN Timothy Stephens, MD Arlington, MA Cambridge, MA Nancy Vargas Peabody, MA Louise Perrault Suen Winnie Wakefield, MA Cambridge, MA Sarah Rosenberg-Scott, MD, MPH David Smith Margaret Lanca Boston, MA Lexington, MA Sara Karp, MD Francisco Bonilla Somerville, MA Arthur Spector, MD Malden, MA Canton, MA Somava Stout, MD Hilary Worthen, MD Cambridge, MA Ellen Lapowsky Lexington, MA Newton, MA Laura Obbard, MD Jill Forney Jamaica Plain, MA Victor Saldanha, MD Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Elissa Kleinman, MD Monty Monroe Brookline, MA Melrose, MA Maren Batalden Gail Shulman, MD Roslindale, MA Cambridge, MA Page Carter Lynne Seeley, RN Somerville, MA North Reading, MA Paul Geltman, MD Sarah Muzzy Everett, MA Judith Hunt Cambridge, MA Lori Tishler, MD Boston, MA Ravi Gatha Needham, MA Barry Mills, MD Waban, MA Brighton, MA Somerville, MA Marci Yoss, MD Elisabeth Traumann Somerville, MA Florence, MA Norine Philipp Penny Adams Randalal Paulsen, MD Jamaica Plain, MA Cambridge, MA Chestnut Hill, MA Matthew Ruble Brian Walsh, RN Jayme Shorin Cambridge, MA Reading, MA Cambrdige, MA Gail Levine, MD Amanda Zurick Joan Rabin Jamaica Plain, MA Cambridge, MA Amherst, MA James LaFortune Patricia Mansfield Edos Igbinosa, RN Somerville, MA Peabody, MA North Andover, MA Jonathan Strongin, MD Leslie Bodvar Pano Yeracaris, MD, MPH Brookline, MA Revere, MA Chestnut Hill, MA Blake Cady, MD Cynthia MacDougall valerie Ososky Brookline, MA Cambridge, MA Roslindale, MA Anne Fabiny, MD Whitney Rohrer Peggy Brown Brookline, MA Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Katherine Miller, MD Melissa Coco Kathleen Lentz, MD Somerville, MA Belmont, MA Westford, MA Abigail Judge Andrew Jorgensen, MD Katherine Wenger Cambridge, MA Dedham, MA Wayland, MA Laura Pabo Robert Nace Hugh Roberts, MD Watertown, MA Somerville,, MA Leverett, MA Margaret Fox Donna Ferri William Copeland Somerville, MA Malden, MA Northfield, MA Sabina Hak George Dominiak, MD Linda Klaiman Medford, MA Belmont, MA Marblehead, MA Dominika Seidman Alexander Morgan Nancy Crouse Boston, MA Newton, MA Quincy, MA David Gunther, MD Amy Itzkovitz Audrey Gautreau Boston, MA Concord, MA Malden, MA David Osler Paul Thaler Bert Fernandez, MD Cambridge, MA Florence, MA Shutesbury, MA Betty Lee Bill Bicknell, MD, MPH William Zinn, MD Cambride, MA Marshfield, MA Belmont, MA Marianna Kong Miriam Tepper, MD Judy Seifert Boston, MA Somerville, MA Medford, MA Marie Hobart, MD Sheila Cleary, MD Margaret A Lynch Shrewsbury, MA Lexington, MA Cambridge, MA Simeon Kimmel, MS Erin Boggs Jennifer Potter, MD Jamaica Plain, MA Cambridge, MA Brookline, MA Sally Thompson Amber Lerma, MD David Slack, MD Somerville, MA Somerville, MA Florence, MA Stanley Sagov, MD Donald Chauls Lior Givon, MD, PhD Chestnut Hill, MA Sudbury, MA Cambridge, MA Elizabeth Parsons Martha Sweezy, PhD Thomas Goldberger, MD Watertown, MA Cambridge, MA Newton, MA Sharleen Johnston, RN Don Steele, PhD Katharine Kosinski, MD Attleboro, MA Mansfield, MA Cambridge, MA Nina Marlowe, MD Albert H Fine, MD William Horgan, MD Somerville, MA Revere, MA Everett, MA Erik Fung Christopher Grieves, MD Gerard Coste, MD Brighton, MA Cambridge, MA Lexington, MA Muzzamal Habib, MD Pieter Cohen, MD Claudia Epelbaum, MD Brighton, MA Brookline, MA Cambridge, MA Leora Fishman, MD Jeremy Keller, MD Lisa Dobberteen, MD Somerville, MA Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Emily Gregory, MD Hannah Olivet, MD Luis Lobon, MD Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Chestnut Hill, MA Elizabeth Parlee, MD Melanie Adem Somerville, MA Somerville, MA Kevin Dennehy Swampscott, MA Cynthia Telingator, MD Arthur Safran, MD Cambridge, MA Newton, MA Geoffrey Pechinsky, MD Lexington, MA Daniel Tarsy, MD Jill Schiff Boston, MA Brookline, MA Robert Dickman, MD Newton, MA Soma Sengupta Francis Coughlin Brookline, MA Boston, MA Paul Allen Lexington, MA Yamini Saravanan, MD Richard Evans, MD Brighton, MA Great Barrington, MA Pushpa Narayanaswami, MD Chestnut Hill, MA Amy Colson Wendy Gray, MD Newton, MA Cambridge, MA Amanda Klein, MD Dedham, MA David K. Simon, MD Cassie Frank, MD Brookline, MA Cambridge, MA Jennifer Retsinas, MD Cambridge, MA Laura Sullivan, MD Julie Meyers, MS Jamaica Plain, MA Pawtucket, RI Pano Yeracaris Chestnut Hill, MA Anne Fabiny, MD Wayne Altman Cambridge, MA Woburn, MA Rose Goldman, MD Jamaica Plain, MA Jean Matheson, MD Blake Cady Chestnut Hill, MA Brookline, MA Amy Bauer Cambridge, MA Kristen Goodell Jessica Stewart Winchester, MA Brookline, MA Traci Brooks, MD Jamaica Plain, MA Andrea Gordon, MD Clea Lopez Cambridge, MA Melrose, MA Judith Herman, MD Cambridge, MA Miriam Goldfarb, MD Melissa Bartick, MD Ramona Dvorak, MD Cambridge, MA Cambridge, MA Cambrdige, MA Madeline Barott, MD Cambridge, MA