Our Health Policy Matters

A couple of months ago, I was invited to the 40 th anniversary celebration and new building dedication of the Community Health Center in Middletown, Connecticut.  I regretted that I couldn’t go – a family obligation came first. The Community Health Center started as a free clinic in a converted, second floor apartment in a downtown building.  It was about the time I was starting college, and a number of students at my alma mater, Wesleyan University, were among those who got it started.  One was John Hickenlooper, now the Governor of Colorado.  I remember when it started to see its first patients, when it began to grow, and when it hired its first full-time doctor.  Believing the health care was a right, not a privilege, its Board and CEO, Mark Masselli, worked hard to meet the need for safety net health care in the community. By the time I entered the State Legislature in 1979, it was a fixture in my legislative district.  I got to kno...

A couple of months ago, I was invited to the 40 th anniversary celebration and new building dedication of the Community Health Center in Middletown, Connecticut.  I regretted that I couldn’t go – a family obligation came first. The Community Health Center started as a free clinic in a converted, second floor apartment in a downtown building.  It was about the time I was starting college, and a number of students at my alma mater, Wesleyan University, were among those who got it started.  One was John Hickenlooper, now the Governor of Colorado.  I remember when it started to see its first patients, when it began to grow, and when it hired its first full-time doctor.  Believing the health care was a right, not a privilege, its Board and CEO, Mark Masselli, worked hard to meet the need for safety net health care in the community. By the time I entered the State Legislature in 1979, it was a fixture in my legislative district.  I got to kno...