Posted on 07/15/2009 6:40:19 PM PDT by Libloather
Massachusetts' budget forces retreat from universal coverage
15. July 2009 18:40
"The new state budget in Massachusetts eliminates health care coverage for some 30,000 legal immigrants to help close a growing deficit, reversing progress toward universal coverage just as Congress looks to the state as a model for overhauling the nation’s health care system," the New York Times reports.
The affected immigrants are permanent residents who have had green cards for less than five years and are insured through the Commonwealth Care program, an insurance program created by the 2006 law that brought near-universal coverage to Massachusetts. The cuts would save around $130 million (Goodnough, 7/14).
Meanwhile, Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Mass., announced insurance industry-backed legislation that health plans say could "cut the cost of premiums by up to 22 percent," the Boston Globe reports. "The plan... would allow businesses with 50 or fewer employees, and self-employed individuals, to buy basic medical coverage with lower upfront costs and higher out-of-pocket expenses. Healthcare providers would be reimbursed a maximum of 110 percent of the Medicare rate for services, which would translate into lower premiums for small businesses, said Dr. Marylou Buyse, the president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, an industry group. It would also cap at 2 percent the profits insurers could make from small businesses, Buyse said."
But the state health plan association, as well as the Massachusetts Medical Society, point out problem areas in the bill. "The plan presented yesterday won't come close to solving the healthcare crisis, said Dr. Mario Motta, the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society and a cardiologist at Salem Hospital. 'The main problem is that it's based solely on cutting rates to physicians and providers'" (Ballenger, 7/15).
Can’t deny care to the illegals though
They plan to deny you care instead.
DeathCare brought to you by the Muslim Messiah and the US Congress and the MSM! If you’re over 60, kiss your rear goodbye.
All they want is power over your life and death.
http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm
Are you mad yet? Call, write, email NOW. Spread the word.
Text of an email that I just received:
“We truly are in the battle of our lives! Here are the facts on the new 1,018 page bill just released this afternoon. Unfortunately, it has all the bad ideas from previous versions, and more! For instance, there are new federal regulations on the rental of power-driven wheelchairs; new government rules on how providers are supposed to treat patients with dementia; and new regulations on smoking cessation, and everything in between.
In addition to the 1,000 pages of new federal regulations on health care, there are multiple taxes including in the bill because the government will need to raise more than $1 trillion to pay for these new regulations.
The bill creates a new government-run health plan that will undercut the private market pushing as many as 119 million people out of their private health insurance and be forced into a Medicaid-like plan. Employers will be pressed to drop their insurance benefits and send their employees over to the new government plan. This provision doesn’t apply to Members of Congress, who will be able to keep their health plan.
The bill will also create a new federal health board, a group of government bureaucrats that will decide whether your health care is effective or not, which could endanger your ability to receive the health care you need.
To pay for the new federal health board, there will be a new “fair share” tax imposed on everyone’s health insurance to raise $375 million needed for the new bureaucracy. The government has not yet decided what your portion will be.
As I previously wrote to you, there will be a new “tax on individuals without acceptable health care coverage.” In other words, if your health insurance isn’t government-approved you will be taxed.”
Thank you, Mitt Romney, for officially starting this state’s health care “mess”, just before you officially left as Massachusetts Governor!
At least we have a better idea of the costs of insuring. The state of Mass is spendign $4300 per person. So using this number the costs of insuring the roughly $40 uninsured would be $172 billion a year.
Once health care is a “right” like Obama is doing, they won’t be able to deny legals or illegals health care. This might mess of the triage plan to deny health care to the handicapped and eldery, too.
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