Some Health Reform Beats No Health Reform…
Some Health Reform Beats No Health Reform…
So read the Albuquerque Journal editorial on March 10th. The endorsement was a great birthday present for me (I’m a Pisces, can you tell?) that described the signing of a few of the only health care reform bills to emerge from the session--- SB 226 and SB 129. The bills, which I sponsored, were signed after a lot of you phoned, wrote and faxed the governor. As you may remember, one (SB 226) was an insurance reform bill that makes it harder for insurance companies to turn down people with preconditions on technicalities, and harder to refuse to pay when their expenses go over a certain limit. The other (SB 129), which the Governor was initially was going to veto, sets in motion a process to come up with a strategic, statewide plan to confront the major cost drivers in the health care system—chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. Thank you; thank you again for all your help. It’s affirmation that your voice does count.
Now What?
With the failure of the administration’s Health Solutions bill to pass the legislature, the Governor has said that he will call a special session to deal with health care reform sometime during the summer. That’s to give the administration and the Senate (where most of the opposition was located) a chance to work things out in advance. To do so, the Senate President Pro Tem, Sen. Tim Jennings, has appointed a working group composed of the leadership and “a few executive members” to meet with the Governor’s representatives. This is a great idea to focus on areas of possible agreement and construct a roadmap to a compromise. At this point, there are no House members involved, although that may change if the working group morphs into a full-fledged health committee that will delve into the matter in more detail and hold meetings in public. Whether the more extended deliberations will simply retrace the old territory covered by three or four task forces over the years, delay a decision, or bear fruit by the summer is anybody’s guess. Compromise has certainly been made more difficult by the Governor decision to veto only Senate bills, and specifically the bills of many of the leaders on the working group (Jennings, Rawson, Ingle, Lopez, Smith) who have opposed health care reform. Stay tuned.
Spring is in the Air…Getting Ready to Plant? Come to the Seed Exchange
If you’re a home gardener or just want to celebrate the spring cycle, here’s a great event that’s happening in Senate District 13 on Sunday March 30 from 1-3 p.m. It’s a seed exchange and party for local growers—and eaters. It’s sponsored by the Rio Grande Community Farm, the non-profit that demonstrates sustainable, local agriculture on the open space at Montano and Rio Grande that many of us in the old Anderson Field Alliance fought to preserve back in 1996. Some of you may know it as the home of the Corn Maze, which delights children and the young at heart every autumn; others may walk the ditches that criss-cross the fields, which are also visited by hundreds of sand hill cranes. Still others may be involved in the community garden they run every year.
The free Seed Exchange will start at 1:00 p.m. Sunday March 30 with community booths, master gardeners, and arts and crafts. The event may be accessed by going west on Montano Rd. toward the river and turning right at the sign on the field, right before the Presbyterian Church. It will be followed by a fundraising reception ($25 suggested contribution) at the barn. For more information or to sign up for a free booth… contact Abby at 999-1258.
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