Mass. Health Plan: Lessons for Obama Care
With a 2.6% uninsurance rate, Massachusetts comes closer to universal coverage than any other state. Yet a study published in Health Affairs [gated, but with abstract] suggests that reform may be mainly shuffling the deck chairs:
- Since health reform in 2006, there has been very little change in the use of hospital emergency rooms for nonemergency treatments.
- Almost one-fourth of low-income residents said their last trip to the emergency room had been for a non-emergency – the same as in 2006.
- One-in-five adults said they have been told in the past 12 months that a doctor or clinic was not accepting new patients or would not see patients with their type of insurance.
The rejection rate for low-income patients and those with public insurance was twice that of high-income patients and those with private insurance.
And this is what Sen. Kennedy wants to do for the entire country?
Not the entire country, Tom. Members of Congress will still have access to Walter Reed.
Even more fun with MA Health..
If you are poor and have a job and no health insurance, NO HEALTHCARE !!
As part of that MA Healthcare Law… hospitals can not offer FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE to low income or indigent.
The healthcare admin system has been misplacing ??
‘appeals’ responses from subscribers to the point that we advise subscribers to send in responses via ‘certified uspo’.
ALMOST NO DOCTORS in Southeastern Massachusetts will accept Commonwealth Care(i.e., the suburban and rural areas)… better luck if for are completely impoverished.
Yes, something like this IS what we want to do with the rest of the country.
These low cost plans aren’t your only option and will not be your only option with a national plan. If you can afford a better plan, you can buy it.
I bought a moderate plan – something around $450 a month for individual coverage (my wife is under Medicare). I’m not eligible for any subsisy, so that’s what I pay, but someone with lower income could choose the same plan at lower cost to them. I have no problem finding doctors who accept it in SE MA.
There’s a tremendous amount of ignorance and outright lying about these subjects. It’s disgusting.
Politicians need to terminate all welfare benefits to illegals– and no more free healthcare. That’s where some 400 billion could be had. How ’bout that ?