Massachusetts - every citizen is being required to be covered by health insurance...?

Question:

or face fines. Low-income residents would be able to buy policies that are heavily subsidized by the State. Uninsured residents will face tax penalties if they don't choose a plan by 2007. State health officials say the 500,000 uninsured currently get their medical care through extremely expensive emergency room visits, driving up health care costs for everyon.

Any health care officials or health care workers have any input on this?

By Massachusetts heavily or totally covering these people - would this not cause a larger state deficit? Isn't this something that would be covered by their Public Aid?

Answer:
This is good for so many reasons.First, big companies should be happy they now play a more important role in the well being of the their consumers. Second, when you have universal health care, more people visit the doctors; 1- at the onset of a problem instead of waiting until it becomes worse, 2- visit the doctor for regular check ups, and 3- visit for preventative care. These reasons make for a healthier population in general thus often negating the need for more costly an evasive procedures down the road. When a poor person goes to the hospital now a days, its usually because they have put it off for so long because of no insurance, that they are in worse shape than they would have been in if they had gone at the first sign of trouble. Their care now costs the state and the taxpayers more, or puts that poor person in DEEP DEBT for the rest of their life.
We are the only modern industrialized country in the world without Universal Health care for ALL its citizens.
A good way to measure a nations moxie is to look at the way it cares for its population. All Americans should ask themselves this:
Do you care more for the profits of big corporations, than you do for our poor, our children or our elderly?
Health care should be our # 1 priority. Good for you MASS!!

Hi,

The death knell is coming

The powers that be, will be the death of me...

Cheers!!

I don't know exactly how it works (I'm on the other coast), but I imaging that if a Democratic Legislature & a Republican Governor agreed on it, it MUST be good.

Actually, I imagine that any fines would cover rising costs, until everyone has health insurance, in which case no money will be needed to uphold that law.

In theory, of course...

I guess that is better than heavier taxes which is way a universal health plan would cost.People do need to stay out of high dollar emergency rooms

Massachusetts - every citizen is being required to be covered by health insurance...?

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