Blue Mass group has a post on the high rate of medical insurance coverage in our Commonwealth. As Charley on the MTA notes this is a success story on a human level. Our state's health reform includes a personal mandate which may now be called into question with a recent ruling by a Virginia federal judge.
Individual mandates are needed in a system, such as the one enacted nationally and in our state, for a very simple reason. If individuals choose not to participate ...
...and then are sick or injured and cannot pay for their care, someone is going to foot the bill. That someone is everyone else who uses the health care system. If the argument is for freedom to not buy health insurance, then you must also assume the responsibility to pay for your own care. Given the enormous cost of even relatively routine procedures like a heart bypass, all but the wealthiest people are going to be unable to pay unless insured. Does your freedom from having to buy insurance, also carry the consequence that you will not receive care if you are sick or injured? I do not think many would support that position.
What are your thoughts? Tell us in comments.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Massachusetts health care coverage leads the nation
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6 comments:
Where will the state find money for the uninsured?
Massachusetts is breaking under the cost of their mandate Bill. We will see how the constitutionality of all this plays out now that another court has weighed in on the national mandate. I suspect that the Supreme Court will agree forcing people to purchase a good or service or be fined is unconstitutional and no form of rationalization will change that. As for yuo analogy that this is an all or nothing proposition I do not agree.. The health care system needs reform in many areas including torte reform, fraud, insurance reggulation, immigration reform etc... that would go a long way towards reducing the cost of care and thus the cost of insurance which in turn would allow more people to voluntarily purchase insurance.
Where is the money coming from??
The state is 1.5 billion short.
What type of hit will Dartmouth take?
What will happen to full time grade K?
It's time to lock and load...
My understanding is States can mandate people buy insurance (like automobile insurance or health insurance). The Virginia decision is based on the Federal Governments power to do the same under the interstate commerce rule.
Federally it is unconstitutional and falls under States rights.
Bill, I have no problem with the state or goverment mandating that I have health insurance, it is that they are also mandating what kind of coverage and cost I have to pay and I do have a problem with that. With the money I now spend on health insurance I do not spend anywhere near as much on anything else and this it what is slowing the growth in the economy,with the cost of health insurance I now spend more on health insurance than I do on my mortgage. This can not continue if we hope to climb out of this faulty economy.
I had health insurance and it was reasonably priced. The state then told me that my plan didn't qualify. I ended up paying triple to get the same coverage with the exception that I got a little dental coverage. Once again, anytime politicians do anything, I get screwed! Oh, and by the way, if I have the misfortune of really getting a major health problem, I will lose everything just trying to pay my share after the coverage. It is a great example of how government always sells the average Joe down the river and why most of the average Joes don't even bother to vote. It's hopeless.
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