With an announcement that will certainly have implications for the national debate on health reform, Charlie Baker, the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, has announced that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor of Massachusetts.
Gutsy move: He's a leader in the industry (health insurance) that 4 of 10 people believe is most responsible for increasing health costs, and "enjoys" a reputation as low as tobacco and oil companies.
More importantly, he was a key player in Governor Romney's reform that mandated universal health coverage, about which he was skeptical (as described very forthrightly in his blog, and about which I recently scribbled.) The media and voters are going to expect him to have some solutions to the health crisis.
Because of the likelihood of a national coverage mandate, and Mitt Romney's continuing presence as a presidential candidate, Baker the politician's views on health reform will be at least as interesting as Baker the health-plan CEO's.
Research and commentary from a former senior executive in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
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