The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has an article about Kennedy's effort to form a "concensus" on health care, filled with fluffy quotes from special interest lobbyists.

Special attention is given to the role of John McDonough, who is described as a former law maker and head of Health Care For All. Sounds like a nice guy huh?

Let's review who McDonough really is:

They include the leadership of the non-profit called "Health Care For All MA" (HCFA MA) for god's sake. Their E.D. John McDonough is a former legislator who's crossed over to the dark side; another case of "if ya can't beat em', join 'em" (and make a lot more money and fame).

Follow the money trail. Connect the dots. Who wins and who loses???

HCFA MA's $2Mil annual budget is a first "big clue", that jumps out at you when you go down to the MA AG's office (as I did last summer) and look at HCFA MA's IRS 990's.

On recent 990's you'll see these funders listed:

> Blue Cross Blue Shield MA (the state's largest health insurance co.- the group that friggin wrote our famed Romney-Care Fake Reform Law, WITH THE HELP OF THE URBAN INSTITUTE, called Chapter 58 that Gov Terminator IN CA is copying and usign to derail SB 840 the Single Payer bill);

> Partner's Health Care (the state's largest hospital chain, a "public charity" that posted $600 Mil in profits, no i guess that's "surplus", last year)

> The state's wealthiest HMO Harvard Pilgrim (another of of our fine "non profit "public charities" posting Million$ in profits and now in a partnership deal with UnitedHealth, one of the nation's largest FOR PROFIT HMO's)

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On a recently created NPR-WBUR "MA Health Reform" blog (that's really more of a mouthpiece for the hc industry and ad revenue source for NPR-WBUR) the E.D. of HCFA MA J McD posted another of his misleading/give the industry cover items (link below).

Somebody had to respond without holding back. Enter Ann E Malone, RN, an extremely pissed off person/EPOP (that's me, who at this moment has a 2 yo and 7 yo boys crawling all over me so excuse my formatting here):

"There's More to Health Reform than "Health Reform" by John McDonough"
http://www.wbur.org/weblogs/commonhealth /?p=93#comments

" * Ann E Malone, RN, MSN posted:
Comment posted May 7th, 2007 at 1:42 pm

Tonight is Health Care For All MA's annual fundraiser where they are giving a lifetime achievement award to the past CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of MA, Bill VanFaasen.

Mr. VanFaasen was pulling down over $3Mil annual salary heading up our MA "non profit public charity" health insurance co. BCBS during the period when health insurance premiums rose almost 100% in eight years in our state.

Does anyone else see something terribly wrong with this picture?

I'd say it's a lot more disturbing than "industry lobbyists are flies in the ointment", `tho that needs attention, too.

Yes, let's work together for system reforms that will achieve meaningful healthcare for all, including quality mental healthcare for both kids and adults. Learn more about this ongoing work at http://www.MassCare.org/legislation
and at
http://www.DefendHealth.org