Where does an insurer like CDPHP stand in a universal health care system?
When you talk about universal coverage, you have to remember that doesn’t necessarily imply a single payer system. The goal that I see as desirable for society is to have every American have health care. CDPHP can have multiple roles in that. … We’re already involved in a lot of government programs. I think we’re well-suited to respond to whatever tools the government gives us. Not only that, as a not-for-profit, we don’t need much of a margin. Our goal is to take care of people. So we’re in a much better position than some of the bigger for-profits. At the state level, there’s talk of universal care, too. What role could a CDPHP play in that? I think that at the state level, we’re more likely to see some increased attempts to cover the uninsured—in the same vein that they’ve done in Massachusetts. I want us to play a major role in that, at least in this region. Has the mood changed—the talk of universal care—since the Clinton years? We’ve been there before. I mean, health care has b
