When President Barack Obama lands in Boston to talk about the federal health insurance overhaul today, he'll be hoping to draw parallels with Massachusetts' landmark 2006 health law.
Obama's message: Be patient.
When Massachusetts first passed its law, the rate of people signing up grew only sluggishly. As deadlines approached, the pace picked up. And today, the law remains popular and provided a blueprint for Obama's law.
But the Massachusetts law never faced the kind of high-profile computer woes plaguing the federal law. It also never faced the predictions of failure the federal law has.
In part that's because Massachusetts' law had a wide array of supporters, including Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, who signed it into law; the Democratic-led Legislature and the business and health care communities.
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