Costs Keep Rising [Romneycare]

The Wall Street Journal ^ | 2009-10-27 | Grace-Marie Turner

[rabscuttle385]

Three years after Massachusetts enacted its sweeping health-reform legislation, rising health costs continue to bedevil the state and threaten to derail reform efforts.

Despite a significant restructuring of the state's health sector and dominance of nonprofit health plans, Massachusetts still has the highest health-insurance costs in the nation, averaging $13,788 for a family, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

One of the reasons so many people supported the reform effort in Massachusetts is that they were told universal coverage would lead to lower costs. With universal coverage, Massachusetts politicians argued, as many in Washington do today, people would no longer have to pay the medical bills of those who don't have insurance—the "free riders"—and therefore health-insurance premiums would fall, or at least level off.

Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who led the reform effort, wrote an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal (April 11, 2006) at the time the law was adopted, saying: "Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the costs of health care will be reduced."

[rabscuttle385]

"Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the costs of health care will be reduced."

[rabscuttle385]

Romney is a fraud and a DIABLO.

[Foolsgold]

Hawaii put in universal health care for Children that lasted 6 months

[staytrue]

As usual, statistics can be spun to say anything you want them to say. I read the entire article but could not find anything to clarify the issue.

Bottom line: The statement is “Massachusetts still has the highest health-insurance costs in the nation, averaging $13,788 for a family”

The question is with the word “still”. I think that means before romneycare, MA had the highest per family cost in the nation and after romneycare, MA STILL had the highest cost.

Further, health costs have risen nationwide in every state.

So romneycare could have lowered costs in MA but not by enough to move MA from 50th to 49th most expensive. And romneycare could have lowered costs so that the increase in MA is less than the increases in other states, but not by enough to move MA from 50th to 49th.

I did read the article and could find no clarifying statements one way or another.

[redgirlinabluestate]

Health Care Reform Lauded

Approximately 70 percent of in-state physicians support the current Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law that authorized near universal health care coverage for the state in 2006, according to a study released by the Harvard School of Public Health

As part of the study, the researchers asked approximately 2000 practicing physicians in Massachusetts about 22 different aspects of their practice and whether these had been affected by the law’s passage.

Physicians were asked to rate the bill’s effect on everything from their ability to get needed referrals to their patients’ waiting time.

In 21 of the areas, the majority of physicians reported that the law had either a positive or negligible effect on their practice.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=529734

[GeronL]

Romney Care will not lower costs anymore than placing high taxes on everything medical would lower the costs.

[staytrue]

Ok, when judging something, you always need to test against something. In medicine,you test against a placebo.

I could say “unemployment in Texas and Alaska are up over the last two years, therefore republicans and/or conservatives stink”.

That is quite wrong because if compare the rise in unemployment in TX and AK compared to the other states, the result is quite good.

Saying under romneycare, things got worse doesn’t cut it.

It has to be under romneycare, things got worse compared to other states and I don’t see the proof here.

[staytrue]

Romney Care will not lower costs anymore than placing high taxes on everything medical would lower the costs.

I can't disprove this, but I've seen nothing that you provided that makes your case. You seem to like to do that a lot, but it just does not cut it.

[MaxMax]

So I took Teds advice and said it would lead to lowers costs

[GeronL]

You think levying taxes on something will make it cheaper? More available?

Lets try a 100% sales tax on food and see if that doesn’t raise prices.

[CowboyJay]

Hate to burst the rhetorical bubble for you, but this comparison has already been made. Insurance premiums for MA residents rose at nearly twice the national rate last year. I’m not going to take the time to google the article and track it down, because I don’t think you’d read it anyway.

Same thing happened with auto insurance after it became compulsory. When you mandate something, demand is artificially increased and pricess WILL go up. It’s as basic as economics gets.

[nutmeg]

Hawaii put in universal health care for Children that lasted 6 months

Didn't "TennCare" fail in Tennessee as well?

I think some ObamaCare-like program failed in Maine also...

[ejonesie22]

Romneycare is a loser, end of story.

Whatever it may or may not have done to MA citizen in regards to health care costs, it none the less has cost them more than it should.

And that is above and beyond simply dismissing it as a government run program which should be enough for any conservative.

Some light reading:

http://www.bizzyblog.com/2008/02/04/the-romneycare-crackup-continues-and-is-becoming-a-chasm/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/health/policy/16mass.html

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18322

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2008/01/11/catching-flak-for-romneycare/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121728669884991317.html

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=19329

http://www.statehousecall.org/romneycare-one-year-on

http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2008/07/ronneycare_for.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574447181764002214.html

[ejonesie22]

Oh, well in that case the 100s of millions in cost overruns are just dandy then, since the doctors in a Harvard study seem all happy.

On to Obama Care then!

I know some doctors like it as well.

And what is a trillion or two among friends!

Mitt will be happier than a pig in slop, maybe he can be the health care Czar...

[steveab]

In the Ohio’s Columbus Dispatch headline stated that health insurance has increased 131% over the last ten years. Shocking, just shocking I tell you. But what they fail to point out that the cost of other goods and services has also gone up as well. I have my own inflation gage (cost increase gage). Starting in 1999 I started buying two plain cake donuts and a small cup of coffee ever quarter at the same shop. 1999 cost $.90 today’s cost $2.90. You do the math. The largest increase has been in the last three years, $2.55, $2.70 and $2.90. The Progressive Socialist wants the heath care to become a national controlled utility company or companies. The large health insurance companies want to be like large electric and natural gas companies. Why? Take a look at large electric companies business models. It’s a sweet deal. They have a captive market and have been charging more to produce less. Every time they want a rate increase they tell the their state PUCO board they need the rate increase because they are not selling enough electricity and at the same time promoting less use (backed by the government). Selling this nonsense to consumers is easy. "Conserve energy and save money." How about we tell both insurance and utility companies to sell more product and lower their unit cost. But, I'm just an old construction worker, so what do I know.

[redgirlinabluestate]

Plus, staytrue, it's NOT Romneycare. His 8 vetoes were overidden by the liberal legislature. So the plan he originally envisioned was never put into practice. He's the first to admit, that while they got everyone insured (which means taxpayers are no longer left paying for everyone's ER visits), the result is far from perfect given those overidden vetoes.

Also, fair-minded individuals realize that many changes were made after Romney left office as well. Had he remained governor, it is safe to say he would have attempted to enact the 2nd part of the reform which would have addressed cost cutting measures similar to the ones he lists here in his health care reform platform(i.e. tort reform, deregulation etc).

It's still good to point out to the dems that they did get everyone insured without resorting to the "public option" that the libs keep trying to push. That has nothing to do with getting everyone insured, but is only a thinly veiled attempt to expand government power.

[redgirlinabluestate]

1. It's not Romneycare (his plan was rejected by the 85% liberal legislature - a stubborn fact ignored by his enemies.)

2. Costs were not yet addressed in the Massachusetts health care reform so, of course, costs are rising. Just like the cost of everything else.

Lesson learned: When reforming health care do both steps at the same time -- increase coverage AND implement cost cutting measures simultaneously (not the easiest of tasks with a 85% liberal MA legislature --worse odds than the US Congress).

[Liz]

Harry (braindead) Reid told a presser that Obamacare would put a stop to those nasty insurance companies that he called "the biggest business profiteers in the nation".......Reid was echoing Know Nothing Ohaha.

The facts are these----according to a comprehensive Forbes list, health insurers are Number 35 on the list--w/ a 2% profit yield.

Telecoms are the highest profit-making businesses.

Course the Forbes list did not include federal legislators profiting from looting the US Treasury, earmarks, campaign donations, junkets, special interest kickbacks, low interest loans, mortgages, hidden real estate deals......hitting taxpayers with endless expense items, and the like.

There's a saying---once they get into office, they never spend a nickel of their own money, ever again. How did Charles Rangel become a multi-millionaire when he had only one job---as a Congressman?

==================================================

Let's get the facts on profiteering legislators published.........now.

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[Condor51]

There's a saying---once they get into office, they never spend a nickel of their own money, ever again.
How did Charles Rangel become a multi-millionaire when he had only one job---as a Congressman?

Cadillac Charlie got rich the same way Adam Clayton Powell did. Or an even better example... LBJ.

That is -- They did it 'the old fashioned way', they stole it from the taxpayers

[Liz]

The fraud of Mass "universal health care."

The costs were rising (like flesh-eating ghouls in Night of The Living Dead), and were voraciously eating into the state budget at an alarming rate.

SOLUTION: Mass pulled some 150,000 citizens out of the plan. So much for "universal health care."