A Speaker for the Times
Ronald Mariano G’72 Leads the Massachusetts House of Representatives By Robert P. Connolly ’78
★★★
Showing early evidence of the prodigious work ethic that fueled his rise at the State House, the young Ron Mariano is outside the gates of Quincy’s cavernous Fore River Shipyard, selling newspapers and earning a hefty $50 a week. Fast forward to an early stage in his career and Ronald Mariano G’72, a fledgling legislative aide, feels very at home in the intensely personal culture of the Massachusetts State House. “I fell in love with the building. You meet the best people in the world. I have made friends I will have the rest of my life,” Mariano notes. Time passes and the onetime aide becomes a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives—and his work ethic and network of relationships make him the perfect choice to be the House point person as state government takes on a true life-or-death issue. The question is whether Massachusetts, known as the health care capital of the world, can provide its citizens with decent health insurance coverage. Few disagree with the goal—but getting there is another matter. “There were so many moving parts, so many moving pieces. You had doctors, you had hospitals, and you had insurance companies. Getting everybody moving in the same direction was a real challenge, and I loved it,” Mariano recalls. When it was done, Mariano “felt a real sense of accomplishment, a sense of purpose.” The epic accomplishment was passing the state’s landmark health care coverage bill of 2006—a law that served as a model for 2010’s Affordable Care Act. Today Massachusetts is the nation’s leader in health care coverage, with only 3 percent of its population uninsured, well below the national average of 9.2 percent.
UMass Boston Fall 2021
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