Keep an Eye on Massachusetts

More on the Massachusetts health care plan. From MSNBC:

The Massachusetts plan is a political experiment, a policy experiment, and a social experiment. It imposes a system of shared responsibility, with new burdens on individuals, on employers, and on the government. The state taxpayer association calls it "a truly noble experiment."

The law, signed by former Gov. Mitt Romney, mandates that just about everyone living in Massachusetts must have health insurance by Dec. 31, or else pay a tax penalty.  Businesses with 11 or more employees have to pay their “fair share” or get hit with a penalty..

Since the plan went into effect, over 150,000 low income Massachusetts residents are now on free or subsidized health insurance plans.

Here’s how it’s working, according to MSNBC:

The state has already backed off of "universal." About 160,000 uninsured people in the state have incomes that are too high to qualify for subsidized health insurance, but too low to afford the lowest-cost unsubsidized plans. About 60,000 of these working poor won't face a penalty for not getting insurance, but the 100,000 others are in a bind.

"What I'm starting to see," [Maureen] Linehan [, a single mother who works three jobs,] said, "is the people have to pay for their health care, and now they can't afford to pay their rent."

Had the state Legislature backed off on its heavy mandates on health insurers, coverage would have been much more affordable for people like Linehan.

From Washington Business:

"We certainly advocated that the products that are going to be available [through the Massachusetts plan] be freed from the many mandates we have in Massachusetts," said Richard Lord, president of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts and a member of the.... board of directors [that oversee the health plan]. "Unfortunately, the Legislature did not agree with us there, so these products are going to have to include all of the mandated benefits, some of which certainly add to the cost of health insurance."

From MSNBC:

So far, the coalition that birthed the new law is holding: Consumer groups, employer groups and state officials all said that the plan is fair and has a chance to succeed, at least if the growth in health care costs can be stemmed.

"It's a truly noble experiment," said Michael J. Widmer, the president of the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, a research group run by employers and associations.

Possibly. But the rest of us should wait to see how it turns out before we follow suit.