Those damn liberals…
…who have a Republican governor seem to be close to an affordable health insurance plan for all residents.
Thanks for all the email bringing this up. Hopefully, other states will look at this and follow suit.
UPDATE: Boston.com story here. The legislation isn’t complete as of this writing, and it appears that lower income people will be covered without a fee. o
- 04.04.2006
- 17 Responses »
- health, insurance
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I’m proud to say I’m from Boston.
And humbled to say that those from Utah found out about this long before I.
I’ve spent too much time in upstate NY. Thanks for the update, though!
Thanks for the update. As a family that’s contemplating changing states and jobs, healthcare is always on the tip off our worries.
I’m interested to see when this all comes to a head. What is the magic number of uninsured in this country that will tip things to be politically advantageous for leaders to make any significant changes to our health care system?
It’s about time someone figured out a feasible health care plan. Now, I just hope that other states, such as my own, will get in gear.
“Hopefully, other states will look at this and follow suit.”
Agreed. Even better, hopefully the Federal government will take notice and deploy the same (or similar) nationally.
This is yet another milestone in a long, long list of why we plan to move back to Massachusetts next year. We left 7 months ago for Florida and more affordable housing, etc.
The Red State-ness just isn’t worth it. Not even a little. Gloucester, here I come. Please.
When I read this I thought about you guys, Jon! This is a great step for all of us and maybe, maybe it is only a matter of time before progressive thoughts on healthcare spread.
I wouldn’t be too happy too fast here. I am uninsured and I live in Mass., so naturally, I have been following this process very closely. I also have copies of all the bills that have been brought up, including this most recent one that was approved. On paper, it looks great; affordable premiums, expanding MassHealth,etc. The problem is that the legislators are NOT doing this out of concern for their citizens. They have grappled with, and ulimately passed this bill to keep public hospitals from running in the red due to care of uninsured residents. I don’t have all of the details yet, but if this bill is like the others, the insurance that will be forced on us will likely have a “low” premium, based on income, of up to $200 a month. Now this sounds great, but likely this will offer a plan with a deductable of $2000. This means that those of us who are uninsured are being punished for something that is largely out of our control. As it stands now, I can afford to go to the doctor and pay out of pocket as needed. If I am shelling out an additional $200 a month, I can no longer afford to do that, because under this plan, I am not covered for routine appointments. Some people will be helped by this plan, but most people do not have insurance because they cannot afford insurance. Here, they get to pay for the insurance but get no real benefits. The state is trying to cover it’s ass at the expense of the uninsured,acting as if we choose to be so. It’s kind of like blaming the victim.
Sara, thanks for that input.
The politicians in the U.S. never do much out of concern for the citizens. It’s more about the votes.
However, baby steps. This is not universal care. And I agree that it does punish those who are already scraping by.
As a comparison, In the high-risk group coverage provided by Utah and a private insurer, our deductible/out-of-pocket is three times that of the MA plan. Per person. It’s truly catastrophic only. And our premium is much higher as well. Still, if something horrible happened, we’d get to keep the house.
Jon,
I agree with you about the “at risk” portion of the population. Private insurance has never been kind to anybody with any history of anything really. I have thought about your family’s situation as this has unfolded, and I agree it would be a huge step up for the Armstrong family. But for me, it is in no palpable way a step forward, even a baby step. I guess what really sticks in my craw is the utter disconnect with our legislators. They truly do not understand any life situation beyond their own. They don’t see that there is any problem with the health care system because they have health care. And everybody they know has health care. And enough money to pay for it. And that is why nothing has been done. They just do not see the urgency. Interestingly, there is a section of the bill that extends family coverage until a dependant is 25 years of age. Clearly, at least one legislator has a child that didn’t move into the corporate world fast enough. So many people talk about Canada, and how even though they have national health care, there are major problems, and you can’t see the doctor you want to see. Me, I’d be happy to see any doctor. That would be a step up.
But, I digress. I feel very strongly about this issue, and I am so frustrated that decisions are being made about where I put a large portion of my money without any input from me or others like me. I would love to pay for health care but I’m suspicious that this plan will not help at all(except for the catastrophic), and will merely take $200 out of my pocket each month. I am curious to see what the good citizens of this Commonwealth say when they find out exactly what it is they are paying for. I do hope it makes more sense than the previous ones.
I second John on being ashamed that I have no idea what’s going on in my own state. But then again, I’m at a college that is 10 miles from the NY border so most of MA just pretends we don’t exist.
And totally off-topic, but to dk Mom:
I’m assuming dk = denmark? If so, I would looooove to talk to you sometime! I’m planning to do my student teaching in Denmark next spring and seek out any chance I can get to talk to Danes (especially if they have kids)!! Please drop me a line? AIM = Abby6079, EMAIL = abby6384@excite.com Thank you! (And thanks Jon for providing networking opportunities!)
This is what a democratic political system should be about…people working together to achieve solutions. Bravo Massachusetts!
This makes me so proud to be from Massachusetts.
One thing I was suprised, and very pleased, to find in this bill is the cheap plans that will be available for 19-26 year olds. Being in that age group myself, health insurance is a huge issue. Many jobs available to this age demographic do not offer insurance; this makes it a lot harder to become financially independent. This is not to say that 19-26 year olds need health insurance more than, say, the single mom or the working class family of 5, but we are certainly an age group in need of health insurance aid and one that rarely gets attention.
This is an example of why this bill will succeed: it really seeks to help every possible group in need of insurance.
As Sara says, don’t be counting your chickens on anything Romney does, including this health care bill. I’m uninsured in MA. I used to have Mass Health, but I was kicked off the rolls a year ago because I make too much money on SSDI. Yup, I’m disabled and I actually cannot get Medicaid (or Medicare until I’ve been on SSDI for 2 full years) because our family of 3 is living on ~28K. And our house payment is $1800/month + utilities. Try and live on that and pay for health care.
My children are covered by Mass Health for now, but will be dropped after the year end. I get free care at a local hospital, which covers everything including prescriptions, because we are so poor. But not poor enough to get health care in MA.
With this new bill, I’ll have to pay for health insurance for my family. We’re REQUIRED to by the bill. You can’t opt out of it. I have no money to pay for health insurance, but the state never asked me for my opinion on how they should provide coverage.
Yes, MassHealth is MUCH better than most state mandated coverage for children. It actually covers adults, unlike CA and other states. But, it doesn’t cover vision or dental for adults, only for kids. It doesn’t have a big formulary so most meds aren’t approved. Allergies? Tough noogies. Asthma? Use only the meds allowed. GERD…buy some Tums. ANy med that has an OTC equivalent is not on the formulary.
While Romney is going to use this as a positive when he runs for President (and yes, he IS going to run), let me mention some of the negatives. He has DECIMATED DSS to the point that their budget was cut 90% in the past 3 years. This is the agency that covers caring for foster kids, kids with no parents, kids in trouble, kids that desperately need services. They can’t afford to pay for anything. They used to provide summer programs and after-school activities at the Y or Boys and Girls club. No more. They used to provide clothing. No more. It’s frightening how bad it’s gotten.
If your child is in trouble and needs to go to court, you have to pay a court fee of over $150. So if your kid is truant and gets caught, you have to pay to stand before a judge, regardless of the outcome.
Romney has decimated affordable housing in this state to the point where the Welfare Department shipped over 200 families to Maine to live. Can you imagine being an inner city family being sent to frigging Maine with no choice? There are no housing vouchers in this state. None. In order to build some affordable housing, the state legislature passed the 40B law, which allows developers to circumvent much of the zoning laws and building requirements in order to offer a percentage of affordable units. Companies like Avalon have been building in droves and offering 10-20 units in each complex with waiting lists that are 5+ years long. But since the average wait for housing provided by the state is 20 YEARS, that’s a deal!
I could go on and on and on about what this man has done to our commonwealth with his smarmy looks and his complete disregard for the citizens who have to remain here after his term is over and he can move on. The man is pure, unadulterated scum, and giving him any nachas for this bill would be short-sighted.
I saw this and thought of you and your family as well, Oh Blurb-o-liscious One. I’ve got my thoughts on my blog, head on over if you get a chance.
As an American living in the UK I can tell you what you probably already know. Having a national health care service is a dream. The service itself is seriously flawed to be sure and I’m really glad we also have private insurance but the point here is that there is a safety net and when you’re raising kids who are attracted to accidents like a moth to a flame it makes all the difference to know that you have the option of either seeing a private doctor for immediate concerns or (often) seeing the very same doctor a couple of weeks later for the less urgent matters for free.
I live in Boston. I second Sara W’s comments. Read the fine print…the *predicted* monthly premiums will be closer to $325/individual and $650/family. That’s not guaranteed either. That number has been set by legislators and not guaranteed by any of the insurance companies.
It also sets up a 2-tier system. Lower income MA citizens must use community hospitals, can’t choose MDs, don’t get Rx coverage, etc. People who can afford better insurance get to go to the major teaching hospitals and pick their doctors.
Romney stinks. This is a big PR campaign for him. Note how most of his statements on this subject are about claiming responsibility for “95%” of it. Give me a break. This is STILL the man that wants to make an amendment to the state consititution banning gay marriage.
One last thing: the only REAL solution still falls by the wayside: the single payer universal coverage plan– endorsed by the GAO, CBO and Massachusetts Medical Society. But NOT endorsed by insurance companies (and their respective lobbyists) because it threatens executive compensations at insurance and pharma cos. The rich are still getting richer…at an ever greater expense to the general public.
If you want to keep up on this, you may want to check out boston.com (requires free registration).
There is a good article up right now which dissects the pros and cons better than most articles I’ve seen. This could be a great thing or a terrible disaster. I’m keeping my fingers crossed…