Health plan may exempt 20% of the uninsured

Boston Glob ^ | 4/12/2007 | Alice Dembner,

[oblomov]

To remove the threat of a public backlash, the state plans to exempt nearly 20 percent of uninsured adults from the state's new requirement that everyone have health insurance.

The proposal, expected to be approved by a state board today, is based on calculations that even the lowest-cost insurance would not be affordable for an estimated 60,000 people with low and moderate incomes who do not qualify for state subsidies. Forcing them to buy insurance or pay a penalty could jeopardize the rest of the state's initiative, officials said. Instead, the state board appears prepared to settle for near universal coverage, all but 1 percent of the state's population.

The proposed affordability standard is a compromise between those who believed that broad exemptions were needed and those who argued that most people could afford new state-approved insurance plans. State officials had previously indicated they were not inclined to exempt many people.

The compromise drew praise yesterday from many quarters, including some who see the state's initiative as a national model.

[oblomov]

Our statist rulers realize that they must take two steps forward, and one step back. Doing so creates the simulacrum of "compromise" and "the democratic process working". In the end, the aim of total state control is achieved, though it takes longer than the ideological purists would want.

What may look like a curtailment of socialized medicine is part of the plan - a speed bump, not a detour.

[goldstategop]

Yep. They realize, unlike Hillary, universal health care can't be achieved in one fell swoop. They'll wait til next time to extend it.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[To Hell With Poverty]

ping

[JohnLongIsland]

lets call a tax increase a tax increase in hyannis orcinus country.

[VeniVidiVici]

Well that didn’t take long.

It won’t be much longer that they expand the pool of freeloaders making the argument that the “rich” can afford it, till only the top 1% or 2% of wage earners will be carrying everybody else in the state.

You heard it here :-)

[massgopguy]

This farce gets more Unconstitutional every day. The sword they dangled over everybody’s head was that we’d lose our Personal Exemption on our State Income Taxes if we didn’t enroll on a Healthcare plan. Watch Deval propose increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for the exempt people.

[Unmarked Package]

I believe the Connector Authority capped the maximum deductible at $2000 for qualified healthcare policies. The low bid for a policy with a $2000 deductible came in at $153/month from what I've read.

The original healthcare reform proposal would have allowed higher deductible plans and/or plans with reduced benefits but that feature was rejected. That would have been an attractive option for younger, healthier people just getting started in life with lower incomes. It would have reduced the number of people they exempted from mandatory coverage if they got the low-bid premium substantially below $150/month.

Every decision made by the Connector Authority has consequences for the overall reform plan. Along with Gov. Deval Patrick, they all have a vested interest in making this reform work well because many other states are watching closely what happens in Massachusetts.

[cosine]

Take a look at ehealthinsurance.com to get an idea of how high Massachusetts premiums are thanks to its early 1990s regulations. People in lightly regulated states pay half or less for the same policy.

We have government forcing people to buy a product they don’t want in order to take care of the unintended consequences of government regulation. As always, the left progresses by burdening the private sector until all voluntary association ceases and government is all that is left standing.

[Unmarked Package]

I was comparing the Connector plan quotes to what I pay in Texas and they looked very reasonable. The $153/month quote was for a $2000 deductible plan and included prescription drug coverage. I pay $164/month for a $5000 deductible plan without drug coverage in Texas.

MA could definitely use some regulatory relief and especially medical liability reform (tort reform) which was enacted in Texas to control costs. My premiums actually went down a few dollars with medical liability reform, but then resumed the relentless move higher.

However, in Texas property owners pay high hospital district taxes (part of property taxes) to pay for the thousands of people who use the hospital ER for treatment of minor or chronic illnesses (many are illegals) and then skip out on the bill, leaving the taxpayers to cover the cost. We could use more personal responsibility for healthcare costs in Texas that MA has enacted.