Moving Forward On Health Care, Together

Late yesterday, elected officials in Massachusetts detailed a plan that represents an effective way to provide needed assistance to those community hospitals that serve high numbers of low income patients here in Massachusetts. The agreement also offers, through the creation of a new Commission, a credible means to more thoroughly identify and better understand the many factors that contribute to variation in prices among hospitals in Massachusetts and across the nation. Partners HealthCare supports the compromise legislative package, which was crafted jointly by the Governor, Senate President and Speaker of the House, and appreciates their timely resolution of this issue. The initiative they have helped craft is aimed at avoiding a messy ballot fight that would have been a deplorable waste of health care dollars in Massachusetts. The plan detailed yesterday will help us move forward more constructively with labor leaders in the Commonwealth. We value the contributions of all Partners HealthCare employees. Their skills, professionalism, and compassion are essential to our common goal of delivering the highest quality health care to patients. As part of our strategic alliance with SEIU, we will continue to work together to facilitate the delivery of high quality health care, support fair pay, and good jobs. We have always respected the rights of our employees to choose whether to be represented by a union, or not. Future organizing efforts will be designed to ensure the right of our employees to make free and fully informed decisions on this question through the process of a secret ballot election.