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Anti-Abortion Group Seeks Ballot Measure On MA Health Insurance Mandate


Do you chafe against the Massachusetts requirement that you have health insurance? You may soon have a chance to vote on it.

This just in from Kyle Cheney at the State House News Service: The anti-abortion group Massachusetts Citizens for Life plans a press conference tomorrow on its launch of a ballot measure seeking to repeal the requirement that virtually all residents have health insurance. He writes:

Massachusetts Citizens for Life, an anti-abortion organization, intends to initiate a ballot petition that would repeal the requirement that all Massachusetts residents obtain health insurance, a core provision of the state's landmark 2006 health care law.

Anne Fox, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, told the News Service she hopes the repeal of the mandate will lead to an eventual dismantling of the entire law, which she said has lengthened the wait for doctor visits, contributed to rising insurance premiums and resulted in an increase in taxpayer-funded abortion.

"It's a place to start," she said of the petition effort. "We're not saying that the individual mandate is the end. It's the beginning."

Also:

According to an advisory distributed by the organization Monday, MCFL intends to file 10 signatures with the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley by Tuesday to begin a repeal of "Romney-care," a name that critics of the law have used derisively to tie it to the former governor and Republican presidential candidate. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, front-runner for the Republican nomination, has embraced the law, which he signed in his final year in office, despite criticism from within his party.

Fox said the group's motivation largely stems from fears that the growing cost of health care will lead to rationing of resources and denial of care to state residents.

This program aired on August 1, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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Carey Goldberg Editor, CommonHealth
Carey Goldberg is the editor of WBUR's CommonHealth section.

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