Barack Obama : : Change We Can Believe In | Healthcare in MA: MANDATED HEALTHCARE

MANDATED HEALTHCARE

By Lana in MA - Feb 16th, 2008 at 4:36 am EST

Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content

A great talking point and some facts that need to be made clear are the details of Hillary Clinton's "Universal Healthcare". I'm disturbed by media coverage, commercials and spin that seem to imply that all Americans are going to be covered. It sounds as though we're all going to be covered for free, but that is far from the case. Those of us who do not have coverage are going to be forced (MANDATED) to buy healthcare insurance. This is the major difference between the Obama plan, and the Clinton plan. Hillary's plan "covers everyone" because everyone is forced (mandated) to buy it. The Obama Plan focuses on driving costs down, and makes the plans available, but does not force (mandate) people to buy it.

I live in Massachusetts, where beginning in 2007 they have a mandate (like Hillary's plan) for health insurance. I cannot find where Hillary has made public the income level a person will have to have to qualify for assistance. Nor, has she been willing to say what penalties will occur for non-compliance. She has at one point said that wages might be garnered to collect the insurance fees, but I think she's gone back and forth on exactly how to handle non-compliance and that is one of the MOST IMPORTANT POINTS OF HER PLAN.

Here's the way it works in Massachusetts. Each citizen is REQUIRED (or MANDATED like Hillary's plan) to purchase healthcare insurance. Most, who work for large companies, are able to buy it with assistance from their employers. However, that still leaves hundreds of thousands of people here in Massachusetts without insurance.

Who does this affect? I don't have any statistics on the people involved. This is new in Massachusetts, so those types of studies are yet to be done. I can say, the types that I know that are affected here around Massachusetts. Obviously people who aren't covered by any employer plan by a company. This may include the people who care for your children, cut your hair, dry-clean your clothes, make your pizza's at the pizza shop, make your floral arrangements, landscape your yard, transport goods, train your dogs, as well as writers, artists, musicians, and so on. It's also worth noting that if you become unemployed, and therefore loose the corporate insurance you had been using that you will be required (mandated) to purchase insurance, and if you change jobs, there is often a 90 day waiting period before you are eligible for company medical insurance, then you are also required (mandated) to buy insurance.

What are the costs? Costs are determined by family size to be covered, age of adults to be covered and income level. A single person must pay the FULL COST of insurance premiums if their income is greater than $30,636. A couple must pay the FULL COST of insurance premiums if their income is greater than $41,076. A family, 1 couple with one child, must pay the FULL COST of insurance premiums if their income is greater than $51,516, and so on. Government assistance is provided to those making less than the stated income level within each family size mentioned above. To get more information on the assistance provided, you may go to www.mahealthconnector.org . This assistance may be changing soon, as indicated by this recent article in the Boston Globe. www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/15/health_plan_rates_may_rise_by_14/

Below is a table with premium costs PER MONTH of plans currently available within numerous categories:

Single making more---------------------Insufficient------------------Good---------------------
than $30,636/year--------Age----------Coverage-----------------Coverage------------------
---------------------------------30--------------$199.40--------------$347.69 - $473.42
---------------------------------40--------------$201.30--------------$396.00 - $577.00
---------------------------------50--------------$253.20--------------$441.50 - $826.06
---------------------------------60--------------$398.81--------------$695.39 - $946.83

Couple making more--------------------Insufficient------------------Good---------------------
than $41,076/year--------Age-----------Coverage-----------------Coverage------------------
---------------------------------30--------------$428.72--------------$747.54 - $1060.80
---------------------------------40--------------$579.84--------------$884.00 - $1252.29
---------------------------------50--------------$586.87--------------$942.00 - $1717.43
---------------------------------60--------------$857.43--------------$1144.00 - $1906.63

Family, 1 child more--------------------Insufficient------------------Good---------------------
than $51,516/year--------Age-----------Coverage-----------------Coverage------------------
---------------------------------30--------------$618.15--------------$1077.85 - $1572.00
---------------------------------40--------------$792.48--------------$1390.71 - $1673.67
---------------------------------50--------------$845.23--------------$1475.49 - $1915.00
---------------------------------60--------------$1139.53------------$1984.00 - $2415.07

About this table - The column titled "Insufficient Coverage" is the monthly premium for the cheapest plan available within all categories. The reason I titled it "Insufficient Coverage" is that I believe it is just that! This plan has a $2000 deductible per person, or $4000 for a family. It only covers 20% of hospital stays after the deductibles are met. I don't believe this is a worthwhile health insurance plan because the premiums don't justify the high deductibles, and because what we uninsured really need is protection against a huge unexpected hospital bill. I included this option in the table, however, to be honest about the lowest cost plans that are available. The column titled "Good Coverage" is the monthly premium for a range of different plans that have low or no deductibles, and 100% coverage for hospital stays. To see all the plans available for every family size and age, you can go to www.mahealthconnector.org .

The data on this table was all taken from www.mahealthconnector.org . The residential zip code I used was 02135. The date of birth used for age 30 was 11/30/1978, age 40 was 11/30/1968, age 50 was 11/30/1958, and age 60 was 11/30/1948. The Industry Code used was 7211. The effective date used was April 2008.

What are the Penalties? In 2007, the penalty for not buying insurance is a fine of $219. In 2008, the fine will be raised to $912. The vast majority of the uninsured here in Massachusetts, who would be required to pay these monthly premiums, cannot afford them. Instead we will be paying the penalty, and still not having health insurance. It should also be noted that ensuring compliance, identifying the violators, and collecting the fine is another costly burden on the system.

How does this feel? Being one of the hundreds of thousands remaining uninsured here in Massachusetts, I can say that it is demoralizing. It feels unconstitutional. I am a good citizen! This is a "free" country where I have now become a criminal for not being able to afford health insurance. It's bad enough to carry around the stressful burden of not having health insurance, and now I have become unlawful, as well. I don't believe I was any burden on the system. I took responsibility for my health care costs. I have never visited an emergency room, and I have paid every doctor I have ever seen (actually probably 3 times more than insured patients are billed). Last month I was ill, and needed to see a doctor. I called a couple of doctors' offices, locally, but they would not see me without health insurance. I drove an hour and a half to a primary care office in New Hampshire to get a prescription for antibiotics for Strep Throat.

Hillary has not answered all the questions about her health care plan. But it is a MANDATED plan meaning we all have to PURCHASE or be under some penalty of law. She said at one point that she would garner people's wages to buy their coverage. She won't say exactly what the details of her plan will be, but this is what MANDATED health care looks like here in Massachusetts, and hers its likely to be similar. Besides the outrageous costs, and the fines, I think every American should be asking themselves if we want our government infringing upon on rights and freedoms in this way.