Health Care For All In Massachusetts?

Despite Landmark Universal Health Plan, Thousands Of People, Mostly Young, Are Still Uninsured

(CBS)  When Massachusetts' experiment with universal health care began this year, one thing it did was save Henry Murphy's life. After developing heart trouble last year, he lost his job and his insurance.

"They threw me to the wolves, and I thought that was wrong," he said.

But now, under the new law, everyone must have health insurance. Henry qualified for state-subsidized coverage just in time.

"Do I have it right? Henry may have been on the street, essentially, uninsurable, without the Commonwealth plan?" asks CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews.

"Absolutely. Not only that, he might not be here anymore," says Dr. Soma Stout of the Cambridge Health Alliance.

Out of 400,000 uninsured residents last year, around 170,000 now have insurance. But the gap of 230,000 that remains includes some 130,000 young adults, most of them middle-income men who must pay for their premiums and either don't want it or can't afford it.

That's why before every Red Sox game, beside the hot dogs and hamburgers, the state is pitching health care, aiming the pitch in person and up on Fenway Park's big screen at young men.

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Andrews Blogs: Finding Health Care Under The Bleachers

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It's a tough sell because one of the cheapest family plans available, unsubsidized, with drug coverage, is $662 a month. When Andrews talked to contractor Roger Thompson, there was no way.

"I have no choice. It would be like another mortgage payment for my family and I can't afford that," he said.

Health care advocate John McDonough, the executive director of Health Care For All, praises the state for a good start, but says the gap in affordability has to be filled.

"It's a tough sell because this is a group of people who've never purchased insurance on their own," he says. "It's going to be a challenge for us to make sure that policy evolves to provide an affordable option for those folks."

What's truly new about this bold experiment is that it's not voluntary. Everyone has to buy health insurance or face a penalty on their taxes. But what they already know is that "universal" health in Massachusetts won't quite be universal, for now. It's as if the game has started, but many of the fans haven't arrived.

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Clarification: This story was updated on Aug. 27 to reflect that the $662 a month plan is just one of the cheapest available. The cost varies by location, age and income.

[timantane]

"It''s a tough sell because the cheapest family plan available, with drug coverage, is $662 a month.
What''s truly new about this bold experiment is that it''s not voluntary. Everyone has to buy health insurance or face a penalty on their taxes."

What, are you kidding me? That''s the cheapest plan. I guess employers and the state aren''t kicking in anything. What a deal. Are they really just trying to get people to move out of Mass.?

[edintex]

Lets see...Pay $662.00/month for mandatory health insurance which the middle income family mostly cannot afford unless you give up food, car & life insurance, automobile, or else get penalized by the state at tax time. WOW...

My guess is the penalty you middle income guys will pay to the state would go to provide insurance to the unemployed or even the illegal "migrant workers". And you voted for that?
Boy, they really care about you (all the way into bankruptcy).

When you finally realize that you don''t need your state government telling you how to spend YOUR PRE-TAX money and dictating how you will live your life, just pack up and COME TO TEXAS. We leave our government alone and they leave us alone here in Texas.
A hard working middle aged father can do real well down here and is appreciated. The housing is extrememly reasonably priced. There is NO STATE INCOME TAX IN TEXAS. Just a 6% state sales tax. Insurance rates are the same here, but at least its your choice and not some well intentioned but misguided liberals decision!
By the way, did the health insurance rates come down at all when it became mandatory?

Good luck up there and God bless you all!!!

[Ann S]

Everyone has to buy health insurance or face a penalty on their taxes

That is NOT correct. There are a LOT of exemptions:

(1) financial because of current out-of-pocket on medical care
(2) having been 30days late with rent or mortgage; or having received a shut-off notice for utilities
(3) by income for those over 300% of Federal Poverty Level if the premiums exceed a certain amount. That means, for example, from $30,000 (1 person, 300% FPL) %u2013 $50,000 (1 person) that they don%u2019t have to buy it if the premium is higher than a certain level %u2013 and the premiums for anyone over 40 are ALWAYS too high.

This income/premium schedule exempts at least 20% of those who are uninsured.

Typical incompetent reporting.

The downside is the cheapest policies carry deductibles of $2000 for and individual & $4000 for a family plus out-of-pockets up to $5000/10,000 - oh yeah, an prescription coverage has its own deductible of $250/500 - oh and don''t forget that any payments less than $100 don''t count towards the main deductible.

[dew9112]

edintex,
Just to let you know the "well intentioned but misguided liberals decision!" you speak of was the doing of Mit Romney the so called republican conservative, that he is taking the credit for in his speaches. If he gets elected president no state is safe.

[erasmus6]

I don''t get it, why does it cost so much? In Canada a single person pays around $42 a month, married couple $90 a month, family $100+ a month.
Now that isn''t including drug coverage but even with drug coverage it wouldn''t even come close to $622 a month.

My husbands employers pays $80 a month for our healthcare and that includes extended care, which includes the drug coverage and it also covers dental.

[stevenga777]

My father lives in Quebec Canada. At least everyone has health care....and if want some rivate insurance that is available too.
The US spends the most per person on health care in the world yet America is only 41st in life expectancy in the world, death during childbirth is on the rise in America, Americans once the tallest people in the world are now only the 11th tallest because of poor diet and poor healthcare for prgnant mothers and childern.
America will spend $950,000 to prolong the life of a teminally ill patient with chronic heart failure but won''t treat people for a few thousand dollars to prvent chronic heart failure and other diseases.

[gpieh]

If you want to get control over health care every community has to have control over there own just like they have over schools and police and fire. There is too maney hands in the pot and it is almost impossible to stop all the fraud that is going on.Also this way they will have all the data to determine the true cost of health care.If we had universal health care run by the federal Goverment it would be just like it is now no control and cut in service.

[nothappyatall]

"family mostly cannot afford unless you give up food, car & life insurance, automobile, or else get penalized by the state at tax time. WOW..."

Easiest way to avoid a state law you don''t like, is; DON''T LIVE IN MASS! don''t move there, move out if you do live there now.

[condumism]

Mitt Romney''s universal health care plan is to deregulate insuance comapnies so thay can charge more, and deny more claims than they do today. Alot of braindead Neocons, Mitty''s base, think this man is very inspirational and full of great ideas. These are the same pigs that voted twice for GOPigs GW Bush.

[oakishpines]

'' ...

had a million dollars wanted ten million, not one million dollar film, or 1000 $1000,
but 100 million kids with free medical you are here map song dance skit kits, to make a hundred million dollars for nothing

me verse the world i deserve 99%, the world occupys 99% space time so deserves 99%, so 50% / 50% may be rational and equitable shareing of my market share

210 million represents the richest 3% with over 95% of wealth, poverty lines range $2 to $60 each work day, so giving to 440 to 730,000 each workday for tips of a penny to a dollar from 1/2 % to 11 % of folk marketed to


6 or 10 billion folk is 90,000 counties of 90,000 folk is 300 trail groups of 300 folk, girls get bored and move each 20 seconds to 20 nminutes so i not call them communities?)

$12,000 per year poverty line will buy $60,000 of 2500 sf land and 340 sf home

2500 sqft (50 ft x 50 ft) is 200 lineal feet perimeter, 2.2 to 3650 ''grapes'' per lineal foot (grapes as example or seaweed / algae song / dance art / craft wutever)


... if only 2500 square feet could float like some kind of spore bloom weed dragon tinkering densitys and surface areas and such ...


trails of life is more like kindergarten class, what do you like what do you want to do this that ok well show you how now like this now like that now like this now like that

... ''

[yohnvilson]

I''m self-employed and live in Mass., and I''ve been paying all my health care expenses out of my own pocket for years. The idea that I should be penalized for that as if I''m somehow a leech on society, is absolute insanity. Well this year the tax penalty is much less than insurance would cost, but next year they''re going to really stick it to me (so essentially I''ll be paying for insurance without getting it). WHY? What am I costing them? They assume that every uninsured person goes crying to the state when they get sick so they want to punish those of us who take responsibility for our own problems. Thanks a lot Mitt.

[erasmus6]

"If we had universal health care run by the federal Government it would be just like it is now no control and cut in service. posted by gpien

That is because you have a corrupt government.

I don''t know what your country classifies universal healthcare as, but I''m thinking it must be way different than ours. Our system works great. Everybody gets the best of care and it doesn''t cost $622 a month!

[DrColes]

No one is entitled to healthcare. Healthcare is NOT a constitutional right. If we want it, we have to pay for it. Notwithstanding, we have a healthcare problem in the U.S. and we MUST fix it. What are the problems? Please see http://www.inteliorg.com/healthcare_issue.html

[donnie900]

Makes sense healthcare is a constitutional right since education is a federal mandate. And education is directly linked to a person''s health.

And besides that fact, all that money republicans just gave away to a foreign country being a "superpower".. there''s no right for our own citizens to have healthcare? Or is there just no more money left for it?

[kaelinda]

Mandatory. Pay up or move out. Come to West Virginia. I''m not sure we even HAVE a government here!

[condumism]

Article is a perfect example of the FAILED GOVERNORSHIP in Mass. of Mitt Romney, who is clearly a wholly owned GOPig controlled by CORPRORATE AMERICA! In otherwords, Mitty espouses more of the same for America, the GOPigs "ownership society," which has proven time and again to be a complete failure for the vast majority of Americans.

[incog-nito]

stevenga777, erasmus6: Why does healthcare cost so much in the U.S.? Unlike most other countries, American doctors are not just professionals, they are one-person businesses, multimillionaires. They see as many patients as possible because that adds to their bottom lime. A typical doctor visit means you wait at least 1/2 hour in the waiting room, another 1/2 hour in the exam room, then the doctor walks in, sees you for no more than 5 minutes, scribbles a prescription, and onto to the next patient.

And don''t get me started on the insurance companies.