A cure needed for unhealthy system

The report gives the state ammunition on both points; employers have enrolled more than 160,000 people for coverage since June 2006 and have spent an additional $1 billion on premiums, according to Michael Widmer, head of the pro-business Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. He contends that the Patrick administration's report "makes a mockery of the state's allegation that employers have not done their fair share." But the state needs more funding to keep the subsidized insurance program going amid a state budget crunch caused by declining tax revenues in a weak economy.