In enacting health insurance plan, Massachusetts deferred any serious discussion about controlling health care costs.

From The New York Times:

Here in the cradle of health reform, where universal coverage was pioneered, this year’s tightening race for governor is focused on the question that now confronts the nation: how to keep spiraling costs from bankrupting the experiment.

Four years ago, when Massachusetts enacted a health insurance plan that became a national template, state leaders deferred any serious discussion about controlling health care costs, with predictable results. While the law succeeded in insuring nearly all residents, the state had to raise taxes and trim benefits to preserve its essential contours.