Keller @ Large: Stan Rosenberg On AHCA's Impact On Massachusetts
BOSTON (CBS) -- Potential changes to the federal health care law could have a major impact on the Commonwealth's finances and economy.
WBZ political analyst Jon Keller sat down to discuss Thursday's U.S. House of Representatives health care vote with Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg.
"It's a huge hit to Massachusetts, because as you remember, we had a universal care plan before the federal government did theirs," Rosenberg said. "They made a series of changes which compromised our plan. We had to adapt because it's federal law ... with these potential cuts, it will be very hard for us to balance our budget and meet our health care needs."
In March, when the GOP's first version of the American Health Care Act was proposed, Gov. Charlie Baker estimated it would cost Massachusetts $2 billion. Rosenberg said that kind of a hit would cause the state to have to revisit the tax system in order to support the economy.
"We would be forced into really taking a hard look at the budget and deciding, are we doing what the people need in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts so we can maintain our robust economy and our very high ranking," Rosenberg said, referring to US News and World Report's recent ranking of Massachusetts as the best state.
Keller and Rosenberg also talked about the possibility of tax hikes, which Rosenberg said were increasingly likely.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
