An interview with Elizabeth H. Roberts
Position: Rhode Island lieutenant governor
Background: Roberts worked as a business strategy consultant, policy analyst and health care manager before winning election to the R.I. Senate, as a Democrat, in 1996. Always interested in health care, and with a focus on policy and systems change, Roberts became a leader in several major reform efforts, including a 2004 overhaul of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island that created the new office of the health insurance commissioner, the passage of a tough new lead-paint control law, nursing home reform, expansion of RIte Care and, last year, the creation of the new “WellCare” small-business health plans.
Last fall, after a campaign that included visits to small businesses across the state, she was elected lieutenant governor.
Education: B.A. in human biology, 1978, Brown University; MBA in health care management, 1984, Boston University
Residence: Cranston
Age: 49
Elizabeth H. Roberts made history when, on Jan. 2, she was inaugurated as Rhode Island’s first female lieutenant governor. After a decade as a legislator, often working behind the scenes, she now has statewide visibility, a staff and a budget to help her pursue her vision.
But Roberts also has specific duties as lieutenant governor: She chairs the state Long Term Care Coordinating Council, the Small Business Advocacy Council and the Emergency Management Advisory Council, and those three bodies will, to a great extent, guide her agenda. She spoke with Providence Business News about her new role and her plans for her first year in office.
PBN: What made you want to be lieutenant governor?
ROBERTS: This, to me, is the ideal. I think many politicians wouldn’t see this as the ideal job; it would be a stopping point on your way somewhere else. But I see this office as a really exciting place for public policy and problem-solving. … I don’t have the governor’s responsibilities … nor am I one of 113 legislators. It’s this kind of special spot where you can really make a difference.
PBN: You’ve worked on long-term care issues, but how much have you done on small-business issues and emergency management?
ROBERTS: Both of them mostly on the health side. I’ve been involved in emergency preparedness when looking at public health, surge capacity at hospitals, issues of licensure across state borders. So I have a better understanding of emergency preparedness from that side, but have been very quickly meeting with and getting to know better the responsibilities of the [Emergency Management Agency], the [National] Guard. And I think that council, all of them, the strength of them is that they bring together the full range of people involved in the system … which is an enormous opportunity for solving problems.
PBN: How well prepared is Rhode Island for emergencies?
ROBERTS: I think there’s been some incredible progress in the last few years under the leadership of Bob Warren, the director, and the adjutant general, Maj. Gen. [Robert T.] Bray … With communications, which had been a continuing problem, I think there have been great strides. … There’s still work to be done, but I think there’s progress being made, and I’m hoping the EMAC will be a part of making even more progress. … [Another issue is that] we don’t have an effective system to communicate … with the private sector about who has what expertise, and who wants to make donations … and we might put together a task force to figure out how to do that effectively.
PBN: In health care, what are you hearing from businesses?
ROBERTS: I think one of the things you’re seeing is that the numbers of uninsured have increased significantly, and most of those people are working. So what small employers especially are saying is, “I can’t afford it anymore.” … I think everyone, not just employers – physicians, the hospital community – is looking for broad-based solutions, things that will change the patterns that we’ve been seeing. … I’m about to start heading a task force looking at what’s happening in Massachusetts. A lot of us are saying, I’m not sure to do everything exactly how they did it, but there are a lot of strengths in the system they put in place. We’re also looking at Vermont, which has come at it from a more incremental, voluntary direction.
PBN: The federal government seems to believe strongly in consumer-driven health care as a solution to many of our problems.
ROBERTS: There is no one single change or policy that’s going to transform this whole system, so when they talk about consumer-driven health care, taking care of yourself, they’re absolutely right.
Looking for the best value in health care – you’ve got to give people the information they need to do that. It is great. But then, you also need to deal with people who are sick, which involves a whole different set of decisions and issues.
PBN: What other small-business issues are you working on?
ROBERTS: My work with the business community has largely been around health care … but I also see some opportunities … in the brain-drain discussion, economic development, and how we take the expertise, skills and talent at the universities and colleges, both in the faculty and the students, and make that part of the growth of our economy. … We don’t want to replicate what the EDC does … but I do see an opportunity for this office to [ask] those just-getting-going
businesses: What are the hurdles for you? What’s missing in this economy to keep young people? And then looking at Main Street businesses, and what it is we need to keep them strong and healthy in their communities.
PBN: Taxation is a big deal for businesses. Besides restoring the SBA loan fee tax credit, is there anything else you can do this year to help businesses?
ROBERTS: I think what’s most important is, we made commitments to certain tax structures. Inventory tax I think was one of the most burdensome ones for small businesses – completely repeal that. The property tax legislation of last year, I think, is going to have a big impact over the long term. I think what should be expected and what we should try to do this year is hold on to those plans that were put in place. I’ve supported tax cuts over the years because I recognize that businesses can’t flourish in the tax environment we have in this state. And I assume, listening to people around me, that sales tax discussions are ongoing, but my feeling is that we need to be incredibly prudent if we want to restructure our sales tax, because we may have a higher rate, but we have a lower per-capita burden on our consumers, and a lot of businesses that are taxed in other states function in a world that’s not taxed right now.
