Why Is There A Petition Opposing High-Deductible Plans in Massachusetts?
The new health reform law in Massachusetts attempts to compel uninsured people in the state to purchase their own insurance plans on the private market, or they face stiff penalties (at least a $1,000 fine starting in 2008).
However, the law did not address the waste and inequalities of our health care system, so there literally is no "affordable" insurance available in the state for modest-income households.
The Connector Authority, which is responsible for implementing the law, approved plans with high deductibles, high copayments, and high coinsurance, but relatively low premiums if you are younger (but much higher for older enrollees). In essence, the state is set to force modest-income uninsured people to pay from $2,000 to $5,000 per year in premiums, after which they will have to pay the first $2,000 worth of health care they receive out-of-pocket, after which they will continue to pay substantial co-payments and co-insurance.
TALKING POINTS:
- There is nothing "affordable" about high-deductible plans.
- High-deductible plans shift costs from the well to the sick, who are least able to pay.
- Individuals who can just afford to pay monthly premiums under the new law may not be able to afford the deductibles and other costs needed to access care, meaning they will be paying for insurance they cannot afford to use.
- Individuals with high-deductible plans avoid preventive care and put off necessary care due to price barriers.
- Single payer health care would let us cover everyone with comprehensive care, without paying more than we do now.
Click Here to read and sign the petition.
Click Here to read a report by The Access Project on the dangers of high-deductible plans, entitled "The Illusion of Coverage: How Health Insurance Fails People When They Get Sick.".
May 17 Forum on the New Massachusetts Health Reform Law
The Harvard Medical Ethics forum for Thursday, May 17 from 4:00 to 6:00PM will address &qotd;Insuring the Uninsured: Does Massachusetts Have the Right Model?&qotd;
The event will be moderated by Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, and will feature:
- Michael Chin, MD: Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority
- Katherine Swartz, PhD: Professor of Health Policy and Economics, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health
RSVP to attend this event by sending an email to DME@hms.harvard.edu
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2007
4:00 - 6:00 PM
Harvard Medical School
Carl Walter Amphitheater
Tosteson Medical Education Center
260 Longwood Avenue, Boston
Massachusetts PNHP Speaks Out at UFCW Rally
Organized employees at Stop & Shop in Massachusetts and Rhode Island this past month fought to preserve health care benefits for retail workers at the supermarket chain. According to The Patriot Ledger, "Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. employees in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island voted on whether to go on strike or accept proposals aimed at reducing the company's health care and retirement plan costs."
At a rally outside of Stop & Shop headquarters in Quincy on March 6, Massachusetts PNHP member Dr. Patricia Downs Berger addressed a crowd of supporters about the crisis facing American workers due to spiraling health care costs caused by our fragmented, commercial health insurance system. She spoke of the importance of fundamental reform, and how we could make health care a right and take it off of bargaining tables around the country by implementing a publicly financed, single-payer system that would cover everyone.