The Eagle-Tribune - Latest Comments in Forum: Massachusetts proves the folly of universal health insurance

Re: Forum: Massachusetts proves the folly of universal health insurance

Beth F — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:07:34 -0000

Ah, the Walmart flack is back. Who is paying you for this article Sally? Kaiser Premenente is it? Perhaps Cigna? Maybe it was Aetna. We all know that the present system is working flawlessly. Perhaps the MA system is not perfect but it is a work in progress. Why so quick to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Perhaps because you have been paid to chip away public confidence in the program?

Oooh, looks like we have a winner:
"Kaiser Family Foundation has released a “key facts” update on “Massachusetts Health Reform: Two Years Later.” And all the foes of a universal program use it as an argument against universal coverage.

And what is Sally's solution - Free Market Health Savings Accounts.
"Just as car and homeowners insurance doesn’t pay for maintenance and minor repairs, health insurance kicks in only when true catastrophe strikes. Once a deductible is met, however, a generous insurance package, takes over the burden.
this passes the health care burden over to the individual".
Facts:
In her testimony before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Health, Commonwealth Fund Assistant Vice President Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., said that all evidence to date shows that health savings accounts and high-deductible health plans worsen, rather than improve, the health system's problems. Committee on Finance, September 26, 2006

Early experience with HSA-eligible high-deductible health plans reveals low satisfaction, high out-of-pocket costs, and cost-related access problems, Collins said. A survey conducted with the Employee Benefits Research Institute found that people enrolled in HSA-eligible high-deductible health plans were much less satisfied with many aspects of their health care than adults in more comprehensive plans:

Re: Forum: Massachusetts proves the folly of universal health insurance

M. LaRivee — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:45:29 -0000

But that's not how Comm Choice/Comm Care works -- it's nothing like National Health -- insurance is funded through the state but also through participating private insurance companies. There's a sliding scale of how much you get vs. how much you pay calculated on your last year's income. Applying for it is a bugger, and if you make over $20,000 you pay through the nose for even the most basic procedures.

Re: Forum: Massachusetts proves the folly of universal health insurance

RT — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:57:28 -0000

Its costs much too much to provide 100% care, unlimited benefits, to hundreds of thousands of people who dont pay anything for it. And AC we are counting on your vote!

Re: Forum: Massachusetts proves the folly of universal health insurance

Kristal — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:00:33 -0000

Interesting article
Kristal L. Rosebrook

Re: Forum: Massachusetts proves the folly of universal health insurance

AC Johnston — Sun, 25 May 2008 13:58:32 -0000

Okay, good article. I didn't catch the root of the glitch. Why didn't it work?