Greenfield Human Rights Commission pauses resolution in support of single-payer health care

Greenfield City Hall.

Greenfield City Hall. STAFF FILE PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

Staff Writer

Published: 06-11-2025 3:12 PM

GREENFIELD — Despite thorough debate over a proposed resolution to support a statewide single-payer health care system this week, the Human Rights Commission tabled the idea for now, with some expressing hesitancy to prioritize the idea over other efforts, such as supporting the city’s homeless population.

Commission member Paul Jablon, who presented the resolution at the commission’s meeting in May, argued that having state-run health care would not only save the city and its residents from exorbitant prices, but would remedy the homelessness crisis.

“This relationship between health care and homelessness is a dual thing,” Jablon said. “Over half of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. result from health issues, which, in many cases, leads to homelessness.”

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Reps. Lindsay Sabadosa and Margaret Scarsdale refiled legislation to establish single-payer health insurance in Massachusetts in February. The legislation, called “An Act Establishing Medicare for All in Massachusetts” (H.1405/S.860), seeks to establish the Massachusetts Healthcare Trust: a single payer of all health care costs to replace insurance companies.

If passed, the legislation would make Massachusetts the first state in the country to adopt a single-payer health care system. According to Mayor Ginny Desorgher’s Chief of Staff Erin Anhalt, the city, in fiscal year 2026, is paying approximately $10.62 million in health insurance costs, not including the copays that are the responsibility of each of the city’s employees.

“Under a single-payer system, the city would be saving millions,” Jablon said at Monday’s Human Rights Commission meeting. “Each of us would be saving thousands.”

However, some committee members argued that a single-payer health care resolution should not be prioritized, as the city’s homeless population faces more pressing needs.

Human Rights Commission Chair Mpress Bennu, for instance, noted that members should prioritize their time with families in urgent need of housing or those in the city who are facing deportation, informing them of their human rights and providing information on how to file grievances or use city services. Bennu said she did not believe the commission was ready to vote to send the resolution, a draft of which was written by Jablon, to City Council.

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“This was introduced to us last month, and it’s very important, not just to me as chair, but as a community member, to hear other voices in the community. A lot of individuals that I speak to that are in shelters or are homeless do not see this as a priority,” Bennu said. “Those in the tent community, they’re concerned about their tents or areas being flooded out — that is frontline work. I love the idea, but the immediate need is not being met.”

Commission member Linda Goldstein rebutted Bennu’s argument, explaining that if the city could save millions on health care, it would free up funding that could in turn be used to meet the homeless population’s needs more directly. She added that with a fiscally conservative budget, the city has little that can be allocated to issues affecting the homeless.

“I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. This can also be a priority, with the hope that some of those savings are going to go toward the homeless community,” Goldstein said. “When that homeless person walks into the emergency room, we need to address who’s going to pay for [their treatment] and how they will pay for their treatment.”

Committee Vice Chair Nate Woodard echoed Bennu’s remarks, saying that as city officials, commission members should put greater effort into talking to homeless residents and helping them connect to local and state resources.

“I was homeless for two years with my family. We didn’t worry about health insurance,” Woodard said. “We worried about what food’s going to come on the table, what clothes are we going to wear, what socks are we going to wear the next day. Those are rights that we need to worry about. … Health care is a priority, but it’s not the priority that Greenfield citizens need right now.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.