-
It's that time of year again - our ISP is asking for money. If you have some spare change, please click the Donate link... Thanks!
- About Us
- Search
- Need Help?
- Donate
- Login/Register
Latest Entries
Actions Menu
Blog Roll
- 4F Facebook Page
- Turn Up The Night with Kenny Pick
- Stephanie Miller Show
- The Tim Corrimal Show
- The Rachel Maddow Show
- Angry Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
- Thom Hartmann Program
- Turnips! Fans of Turn Up the Night Facebook Page
- Snopes.com
- Factcheck.org
- Official White House Page, if you must.
- The Brad Blog / Green News Report
- The Poorly Written Political Blog (Joe Santorsa)
Something about RomneyCare
Author: TriSec
Date: 08/22/2009 11:55:23
Good Morning!
Well, it's been quite a week. As most of you know, I'm on new job number two for 2009, and have spent all of the last week in training (and away from dear bloggie!). Next week it's more of the same, only I'll be with my team and learning what it is I'm *actually* supposed to do.
I'll be eligible for benefits in 30 days, which comes as a great relief. I've been on COBRA since February. You know I live in the only state that has a mandated (and unfunded) universal health care requirement. The way Mitt had the law written, everyone in this Commonwealth is required to purchase healthcare. We get a little document from our carrier every year at tax time stating this, or we face a major tax hit. (Yes, we're penalized if we don't have insurance.)
In order to make it 'easier' for folks to comply, Herr Romney created something called the Commonwealth Connector. All the insurance providers in Massachusetts got together and tried to come up with some 'affordable' options for people to buy. Why doesn't everyone take a minute to check it out. Click on the 'find insurance' button and pretend you live here. How much does your plan cost? (remember, that's out-of-pocket to you.)
When I was first out of work, I priced several plans. One of the options wound up being about $100 less than my COBRA payment, but as I read further into it, the copays, deductibles, and other patient responsibilities kept adding up and it didn't make sense to switch. In the end, we qualified for ARRA payments and have been paying roughly what I would normally contribute in an employer-based plan.
But is RomneyCare working? It's true that the majority of persons in the Commonwealth are covered, but at what cost?
And what of the uninsured? There's a law on the books here that states no medical provider can turn away a patient in need, regardless of their ability to pay. (not all states have this; your mileage may vary.) Before RomneyCare, every provider in the Commonwealth paid a percentage of their profits to something called the "Free Care Pool", and in turn, when they had an uninsured patient, they could file a claim against the pool and get a partial payment for their services. RomneyCare assumes that everyone now has insurance, so the pool has been getting smaller and smaller every year since the law went into effect.
Unfortunately, the number of uninsured isn't decreasing at the same pace, so providers are still treating people who can't afford to pay. Only now, instead of having a state safety net so they can get at least minimal payments, there is none....so they end up eating those costs. It's not been widely reported in the media, but those of us in the business know that hospitals are bleeding money and many big name places in the city are on the verge of bankruptcy....and doctors in private practice (particularly General Practitioners, or your family doctor) are leaving the state in droves for greener pastures, or leaving the industry entirely because they can't make any money at it anymore.
Many in Washington are pointing to us and saying "see, it can be done!" But like our differently-winged friends keep telling us at the protests this year, 'Read the Bill' and see what the real cost of healthcare reform is in Massachusetts. It's not really working out.
Well, it's been quite a week. As most of you know, I'm on new job number two for 2009, and have spent all of the last week in training (and away from dear bloggie!). Next week it's more of the same, only I'll be with my team and learning what it is I'm *actually* supposed to do.
I'll be eligible for benefits in 30 days, which comes as a great relief. I've been on COBRA since February. You know I live in the only state that has a mandated (and unfunded) universal health care requirement. The way Mitt had the law written, everyone in this Commonwealth is required to purchase healthcare. We get a little document from our carrier every year at tax time stating this, or we face a major tax hit. (Yes, we're penalized if we don't have insurance.)
In order to make it 'easier' for folks to comply, Herr Romney created something called the Commonwealth Connector. All the insurance providers in Massachusetts got together and tried to come up with some 'affordable' options for people to buy. Why doesn't everyone take a minute to check it out. Click on the 'find insurance' button and pretend you live here. How much does your plan cost? (remember, that's out-of-pocket to you.)
When I was first out of work, I priced several plans. One of the options wound up being about $100 less than my COBRA payment, but as I read further into it, the copays, deductibles, and other patient responsibilities kept adding up and it didn't make sense to switch. In the end, we qualified for ARRA payments and have been paying roughly what I would normally contribute in an employer-based plan.
But is RomneyCare working? It's true that the majority of persons in the Commonwealth are covered, but at what cost?
Massachusetts has the most expensive family health insurance premiums in the country, according to a new analysis that highlights the state’s challenge in trying to rein in medical costs after passage of a landmark 2006 law that mandated coverage for nearly everyone.
The report by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health care foundation, showed that the average family premium for plans offered by employers in Massachusetts was $13,788 in 2008, 40 percent higher than in 2003. Over the same period, premiums nationwide rose an average of 33 percent.
The report did not break out how much premiums have increased in Massachusetts since the 2006 changes went into effect, so it does not show whether the law affected the rate of price increases. Still, with the state’s law often cited as a model for a national health care overhaul, advocates on various sides of the issue said the report underscores the urgency of including cost controls in any large-scale federal or state overhaul.
“While expanding coverage was the logical first step in Massachusetts, cost control is equally as important,’’ said Andrew Dreyfus, an executive vice president at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest private insurer with 3 million members. “And if you don’t face the cost issue directly, then you can jeopardize the progress you’ve made in expanding coverage.’’
President Obama has championed a national health care overhaul that includes cost controls, as well as coverage expansion to nearly every American. But critics have questioned some of his administration’s projected savings, and his proposal for a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers is faltering in Congress.
In Massachusetts, brokering the 2006 overhaul was such a delicate and years-long undertaking that the disparate interest groups - insurers, businesses, consumers, hospital and doctors organizations - all agreed to first tackle health coverage expansion and leave the cost question for a later date.
Now, the Commonwealth Fund report projects that without significant cost reforms, an annual family premium in Massachusetts will soar to $26,730 by 2020.
While Massachusetts residents face the highest premiums in the country, the costs do not eat as big a hole in the typical family budget as in most other states, the report said. That’s because household income in Massachusetts is much higher than the national average. For middle class families that make too much to qualify for state insurance subsidies, however, the premiums can be a significant burden.
One of the first steps to control costs was taken last year, when the Legislature passed a sweeping bill sponsored by Senate President Therese Murray, Democrat of Plymouth. Among other provisions, it restricted some payments and gifts to doctors from pharmaceutical and medical device companies and created a commission to recommend changes in how providers are paid.
Continued...
And what of the uninsured? There's a law on the books here that states no medical provider can turn away a patient in need, regardless of their ability to pay. (not all states have this; your mileage may vary.) Before RomneyCare, every provider in the Commonwealth paid a percentage of their profits to something called the "Free Care Pool", and in turn, when they had an uninsured patient, they could file a claim against the pool and get a partial payment for their services. RomneyCare assumes that everyone now has insurance, so the pool has been getting smaller and smaller every year since the law went into effect.
Unfortunately, the number of uninsured isn't decreasing at the same pace, so providers are still treating people who can't afford to pay. Only now, instead of having a state safety net so they can get at least minimal payments, there is none....so they end up eating those costs. It's not been widely reported in the media, but those of us in the business know that hospitals are bleeding money and many big name places in the city are on the verge of bankruptcy....and doctors in private practice (particularly General Practitioners, or your family doctor) are leaving the state in droves for greener pastures, or leaving the industry entirely because they can't make any money at it anymore.
Many in Washington are pointing to us and saying "see, it can be done!" But like our differently-winged friends keep telling us at the protests this year, 'Read the Bill' and see what the real cost of healthcare reform is in Massachusetts. It's not really working out.
