Massachusetts was supposed to show the country how universal health insurance would work. Actually, it did a good job regarding that. Kind of like the canary in the coal mine. Canaries are very sensitive to methane gas, so the miners carried one with them on their shift. If the canary dropped dead, it was time to leave.
Well, folks, the Massachusetts canary is feet up on the bottom of the cage. The following article from the Boston Globe illustrates the problem:
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/04/04/short_term_customers_boosting_health_costs/
I know this will shock some of you, but there are a fair number of people who aren’t buying health insurance, even though they have the money. Instead, they just wait until they get sick then conveniently buy the coverage. They cancel as soon as they get well.
Health care costs are skyrocketing in Massachusetts. What a shock! The first response by Barack Obama’s buddy and inspiration, Deval Patrick, was to ask for legislation that would give his administration broad new authority to cap rates charged by insurers and medical providers. Profits are so yesterday!
He also included a provision that would only allow people to enroll in a health care plan twice a year, either in June or December, except for people facing significant life changes, such as the birth of a child. This is actually a good idea. That is why the HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY has been doing exactly that for about 30 years.
Oh, it would also allow insurers to exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions for six months. This, of course, has also been done by the HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY, for about 30 years. This is also one of the major things the Obama administration wants to change.
Now to me, two things seem really clear: First, all of the great new ideas used in Massachusetts have increased costs and increased the burden on small employers. Second, every proposed change, except for the government micro-management bit, involves doing the exact same thing the HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY has used successfully for decades.
The Massachusetts canary may not be dead, but it is sure on life support. It would be incredibly stupid to just adopt this failed program on a national basis. Oops! We already did that, only we doubled down on every provision of the Massachusetts law that is producing the worst possible results.
Plus, there is another problem. There are so many people flocking to Massachusetts that there is now grave concern that the increased weight may cause the entire State to tilt up and slide into the ocean. Ironically, even Guam may be safer than Massachusetts.
TDM