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Senator Moore discusses health policy with prep school students |
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November 6, 2006... Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge), last week, was the featured speaker at an all-school assembly at Wilbraham and Monson Academy, to explain the landmark Massachusetts health care reform law enacted this year. The new law has been hailed as a “national model” by the U. S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Senator Moore is the Senate Chairman of the influential Joint Committee on Health Care Financing in the Massachusetts General Court. In that capacity, and as Senate Chair of the Legislative Conference Committee on health reform legislation, Senator Moore was among the principal architects of this first-in-the-nation attempt to provide universal access to health care without requiring new taxes. The senator’s visit to the prestigious western Massachusetts prep school was arranged by Head of School Rodney Labreque. Mr. Labreque, and his wife Shirley, both attended Clark University in Worcester with Senator Moore during their undergraduate college years. In his remarks to the audience of more than 300 students and faculty, Senator Moore acknowledged that while most students would not feel how the law impacted their lives now, they would certainly be grateful for it when they needed it. About seventy-five percent of students in the school are from Massachusetts. However, Moore also reminded those students who live elsewhere that several states and other countries have shown keen interest in the law and are exploring the possibility of using it as a basis for their own legislation. “Even if you aren’t from Massachusetts, you may well benefit from our state’s leadership in health policy as your own home states, build their own health care solutions on the foundation that we have developed,” he noted. After concluding his remarks, the Senator answered questions about health care and about the current political atmosphere. Senator Moore had lunch with Sean Rakowski’s Contemporary World Issues class, at Morrow House, the Head of School’s residence, where lively discussion ensued on issues ranging from abortion rights, gay marriage, creationism vs. evolution; and negative political campaigns. Senator Moore’s campus visit was in conjunction with the school’s Center for Entrepreneurial and Global Studies which is designed to help students learn to be global citizens in the face of increasing globalization, mounting social inequities and threats to environmental sustainability. Other speakers that have participated in the program include: former British Prime Minister John Major; former Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Korn Dabbaransi (who also attended Clark University with Moore and the Labreques); Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza; Jeff Misner, CFO of Continental Airlines; Ray Flynn, former Boston Mayor and Ambassador to the Vatican; and Lee Tae-sik, Korean Ambassador to the United States. To learn more about Senator Moore’s legislation and his work in the Massachusetts Senate, log onto his web site at www.senatormoore.com |
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