Will Massachusetts Health Insurance Fail?February 2008
As costs for Massachusetts health insurance are predicted to boom, the fate of universal
health care seems to hang in the balance. Is this type of insurance a reliable alternative, or a simple pipe-dream?
One thing is certain - everyone agrees that there is a health care crisis at hand. A new national survey published by Consumer Reports reveals that a significant number of Americans overwhelmingly support reforms (82%) that would ensure that all uninsured Americans have access to quality, affordable health care, but when it comes to how those changes should be adopted, there is less consensus.
Some advocate a universal health care model, but as Massachusetts struggles to make their state-wide universal plan work, questions have been arising as to how we could possibly pay for such a thing on a national level. The state's health care plan is now expected to exceed state budget estimates by $400 million in 2009, or about 85% more than projected.
And other rumors abound regarding eligibility snafus. According to the current guidelines, a family of eight earning up to $103,000 year is eligible for state-subsidized Massachusetts health insurance. The struggle to pay for this plan, as well as to figure out who should be participating in it, is leading lawmakers towards hiking taxes.
House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and state Senate President Therese Murray are considering an increase in the state's cigarette tax as one of several ways to pay for the greater-than-expected costs. They are examining several different options in light of recent projections that subsidized coverage under the law could cost as much as $1.35 billion by June 2011, according to the Globe.
Even so, a $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase could only generate $152 million annually.
Facts on:
Universal Health Care in America
Did you know...
82% of Americans overwhelmingly support reforms that would ensure that all uninsured Americans have access to quality, affordable health care?
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So, is universal health care possible in this country? According to
Kaiser's Daily Health Policy Report,
Globe columnist Steve Bailey writes that to control costs, the "health care delivery system itself must be restructured" and that the "best solutions will come from a remaking of the health care delivery system that emphasizes incentives for lower costs and improved quality."
If such changes to the system as a whole could be made, then
Massachusetts's health insurance plan might just make it. But if not, lawmakers are going to have a lot of work to do, to pay a very hefty bill to pay in 2009.
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