KATIE MCBRINE – A PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANGE

If there is one thing that we need today politically it is change, and State Senate candidate Dr. Katie McBrine is aiming to provide a prescription for that change. While there are few available candidates who are willing to break the chains of the status quo, who are courageous enough to take on issues that are sometimes easier left untouched, and who involve themselves politically not because it’s a job but instead because it’s a responsibility, Katie McBrine offers voters a renewed sense of political energy that should carry her to victory in the upcoming November election. 

Originally from the South Side of Chicago, McBrine relocated to the Boston area cutting her teeth in the urgent care center at Children’s Hospital. She has been practicing as a Scituate pediatrician for the past seven years, but admittedly has become a bit restless with her commitment to care indelibly tied to the unfortunate yet necessary realities of the business side of the health care industry. 

“What I have learned is two-fold.  People have to worry about deductibles,” says Dr. McBrine. In an effort to help families, McBrine puts herself in their shoes creating a situation through which she can more clearly see the tug-of-war between parents attempting to seek health care and the harsh reality of paying for it. “People are often forced to shuffle in order to find cheaper ways to pay for health care. I see the business side of it and it is a struggle. Medical tests are important, but whether a prescription is going to be covered by insurance is equally important.  I have argued with insurance companies,” says McBrine. “I talk to families over the phone a lot in an effort to help diagnose problems before they may need to come to my office. The point is to provide care. I have seen it from both sides and [like many voters] I’m tired of screaming in my kitchen about it.” 

Dr. McBrine is not what you would consider to be a classic politician. “Government is typically made up of lawyers [and in our current system] it is those with the money that have the interest of the people in our legislature,” says McBrine. “We need different kinds of experiences in our government, more professionals and specialists, more diversity in order to effectively serve the people.” There is currently no one serving the people of Massachusetts at the State House with a medical background, for instance, especially ironic since the issue of health care continues to be of paramount importance. In fact, there hasn’t been a physician serving the Commonwealth as a senator since the 1930s. “We need to put more progressive people into office,” says McBrine. “In my job as a physician, I listen to people, take their information, and come up with solutions. That’s what doctors do, but I also involve the patient in that solution, and those are the skills that would be really helpful in the State House.” 

“We need to elect new people who can start moving things along,” says McBrine, but politicians also need to be completely transparent. “Every vote should be public record. I will have a site detailing how I voted and why,” says McBrine. “The people should be able to see how I vote.” 

“Health care is a mess and we have to move on it,” says Dr. McBrine. Everything can always be improved, including Medicare.  It shouldn’t just be thrown out. “A more universal system will be far more efficient. We are already paying as it is,” making the frequent charge citing higher costs difficult to justify. “In our current system mental, physical, and eye care are all individualized giving us completely different silos of health care. We need to put it all back together,” says McBrine. 

“If the world continues to move forward and we stay still, then essentially we are going backwards. We’ve progressed,” says McBrine. “We need different skill sets, experiences, and a more progressive set of ideas.” 

With a sense of commitment, moral outrage, and political integrity, Katie McBrine is pushing ahead to make a difference for the people. “We need to help each other. It is time to help each other.” 

Rather than have her election serve as the end of a hard fought campaign like so many other available candidates, Dr. Katie McBrine sees her directed sense of purpose as just the beginning of her work.   “Government is supposed to be how we take care of the people,” says McBrine. “I’ll go in there and make some noise.” 

 And I can attest with relative certainty that Katie McBrine will, indeed, make some noise in the upcoming election and as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate. 

Jay Gillespie can be reached at readjaygillespie.blogspot.com    For more information on Dr. Katie McBrine, go to www.votemcbrine.com