I am posting the following notice on behalf of Sara Arnold, co-chair of the Transportation Advisory Committee: The Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) is...
11626
lorettaporter
lorettaporter@...
Aug 5, 2009 9:37 pm
Francine, Thank you for notifying town meeting members. I assume your committee is getting after the Minuteman to feature this problem. Especially when it...
11627
Patrick Mehr
patrickmehr
Aug 6, 2009 2:04 pm
Carl: In the Governor's press release (below), communities joining GIC are reported to have saved $1.5-$10 million, and MAPC says "For many communities,...
11628
alessandrini@...
sandrolex2004
Aug 6, 2009 5:30 pm
Sounds like it's time for true Health Care Reform with a Public Option. Sandro Pct 4 ... From: "Patrick Mehr" <patrick.mehr@...> To: "Carl Valente"...
11629
David L. Kaufman
davidlawrenc...
Aug 7, 2009 5:01 pm
The main problem with just assuming that costs shifted to employees can be equitably compensated by higher salaries to the same employees, is that medical...
11630
jsegovia@...
segovia2000
Aug 7, 2009 5:39 pm
There will always be risk of some individuals being inordinately targeted by costs applied to members of a group under a unified cost structure. For example,...
11631
JJ Krawczyk
jjkraw
Aug 7, 2009 6:02 pm
... Jesse, Do you have any evidence, even anecdotally, of people deciding how to take care of themselves (health-wise) based on the cost of health care? ...
11632
Patrick Mehr
patrickmehr
Aug 7, 2009 6:49 pm
JJ, David: All three of us wholeheartedly supported candidate Deval Patrick. Why do you now oppose Governor Patrick's policy -- that cities and towns join GIC...
11633
Alan Seferian
a_seferian
Aug 7, 2009 6:52 pm
I think Jesse was referring to managing the cost of your health care, not how you actually take care of yourself health-wise.  If you only pay a small...
11634
David L. Kaufman
davidlawrenc...
Aug 8, 2009 12:33 pm
I do not oppose Lexington joining the GIC if the unions agree to terms that they feel are equitable, including salary adjustments. I was trying to explain why...
11635
Patrick Mehr
patrickmehr
Aug 8, 2009 2:28 pm
Good, now we are almost in agreement. My real concern is that Carl and Town staff lack the expertise to design a creative set of changes salaries vs. benefits...
11636
Alan M. Levine
aml@...
Aug 10, 2009 12:55 am
**** MONDAY - 7:30 PM **** Meeting of the Appropriation Committee Monday, August 19, 2009, 7:30 PM Room 111, Town Office Building AGENDA 1. Confirm/revise...
11637
Alan M. Levine
aml@...
Aug 10, 2009 12:58 am
CORRECTION: The meeting date was incorrect in the body of the message that I just sent out. It is correct below. **** MONDAY - 7:30 PM **** Meeting of the...
11638
Ruth Thomas
rthomas@...
Aug 10, 2009 3:28 pm
The real culprits in ever-increasing health insurance costs are big pharma and the health care industry. No politician wants to take on these culprits because...
11639
Patrick Mehr
patrickmehr
Aug 10, 2009 4:32 pm
Ruth: I agree with most of what you wrote about the impact of "Big Pharma" on health care costs in the US, but the only thing Lexington can do about it is to...
11640
jsegovia@...
segovia2000
Aug 10, 2009 5:48 pm
A recent Rand Corporation study found those with high health insurance deductibles and co-pays spent less on health care than those with low deductibles and...
11641
jsegovia@...
segovia2000
Aug 10, 2009 6:02 pm
Pharmaceutical costs account for less than a fifth of the wealthiest nations' health care costs ('Something Rotten,' The Economist, August 8-14th 2009). The...
11642
David L. Kaufman
davidlawrenc...
Aug 10, 2009 9:19 pm
There is no actual proof that either Canada or the UK (or most European countries with national health plans) achieve worse outcomes in terms of life...
11643
lorettaporter
lorettaporter@...
Aug 10, 2009 9:27 pm
David, I don't know if you have family in Europe or not. But we do in Ireland and Great Britain. The national health is horrible. You go to the local doctor...
11644
David L. Kaufman
davidlawrenc...
Aug 10, 2009 9:44 pm
Loretta, That is probably true about relative convenience and speed of being seen for upper class citizens such as yourself, but they do have better outcomes...
11645
jsegovia@...
segovia2000
Aug 10, 2009 10:48 pm
I'm not sure how long moderators would prefer this discussion continue, but you can't compare national life expectancy, infant mortality rates, etc., strictly...
11646
Rod Cole
rodec@...
Aug 10, 2009 11:10 pm
I confess that my understanding of the issues here is very limited. So maybe someone can help me out. My understanding is that the healthcare reform being...
11647
Vicki Blier
vickibma
Aug 10, 2009 11:26 pm
This is such an interesting discussion, but alas, it has strayed across the border and beyond the sea, well beyond that which is under local control, What a...
11648
Adam Sacks
adam_artist
Aug 11, 2009 1:07 am
Vicki - This is a very interesting conversation which I am following closely, even though I'm not participating, and I would much prefer not to have to go to...
11649
Patrick Mehr
patrickmehr
Aug 11, 2009 2:59 pm
Ruth: I asked the Minuteman if they had any salary data beyond Lexington's top 100 salaries, and was given data for over 2,100 Lexington employees whose 2008...
11650
Irene Dondley
irenedondley
Aug 11, 2009 3:53 pm
I think it would be interesting to see what happens when you add in the remaining 1,700 employees. Is that data possible? --Irene _____ From:...
11651
Ruth Thomas
rthomas@...
Aug 11, 2009 3:59 pm
Thank you, Irene. Ruth Statistics is not a science, in my book at least!...
11652
Vicki Blier
vickibma
Aug 11, 2009 4:01 pm
Irene Dondley wrote: I think it would be interesting to see what happens when you add in the remaining 1,700 employees. Is that data possible? --Irene From: ...
11653
Vicki Blier
vickibma
Aug 11, 2009 4:06 pm
Those interested in doing a national/international analysis of healthcare reform, please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OverflowRoom/ (A posting there...
11654
Patrick Mehr
patrickmehr
Aug 11, 2009 4:28 pm
Irene: The Minuteman's list of over 2,100 employees does not indicate whether each employee worked full or part-time. Therefore, if you go too far down the...
