JCRC Praises Signing of Health Care Cost-Control Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2012

Contact:
Aaron Agulnek
617.457.8674

Change in Law Will Help to Make Health Care More Affordable

(BOSTON – August 6, 2012) The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) joined with Governor Deval Patrick today as he signed the health care cost-control bill into law, within days of the legislature’s final approval. The Jewish community has been at the forefront of the local and national push to make healthcare accessible for every citizen. Last fall the JCRC’s Council endorsed a set of principles to guide advocacy efforts for cost containment. This bill realizes many of those principles and is another step to making the vision of quality and affordable health care for all in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a reality.

This bill seeks to reduce costs by focusing on a few key measures including better coordinated care between providers and patients, a focus on prevention and well-being and by tying health spending to the growth of the state’s economy.

“We are grateful for Governor Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo and our friends in the Legislature for their dedication to the goal of affordable healthcare,” said Jeremy Burton, executive director of JCRC. “We congratulate our partners with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and Health Care For All for their leadership on this important issue.”

“Ever since the Jewish Community joined together to help pass Massachusetts Healthcare Reform in 2006 and increase access, we have worked with our leaders on the second part of the goal, stabilizing and reducing costs," said Bill Gabovitch, president of JCRC. “This bill is a meaningful approach to achieving that goal and we are eager to work with the administration on its successful implementation.”

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The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) is the representative voice of the organized Jewish community. Comprised of 40 constituent organizations, JCRC serves as a catalyst for building a strong and vibrant Jewish community in Boston and around the world; advocates for a safe, secure, Jewish, democratic state of Israel; and promotes an American society that is democratic, pluralistic and just.