Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Mass. Effort in Good Health on 1st Birthday, Pt.3 -- Proponents and opponents.

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Here are some of the reasons for these health insurance cost increases. As already mention, there was a greater number of residents in the low-income segment. Also, even this group’s health insurance premiums will rise this year, beginning now, by 9.4% on average, according to state figures. For those above the ‘poor’ category who pay the full amount of their health insurance premiums, there will be a 5.1% increase.

With the expediency of our nation and its many states to find ways to expand health insurance coverage, most are paying close attention to this Massachusetts model. As this model is being touted by many to be the example of expanding health insurance to be employed at the national level, there are also many critics. In one camp, people view the project as “an overwhelming success story,” as described by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s president, Drew Altman. The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-partisan organization that performs extensive studies concerning health policy. The other camp are concerned about the cost over-runs. These are not black & white criticisms, however. When they say “it has costs somewhat more than expected, so we can't afford to expand coverage” they’re actually saying two things. Admission that ‘we don’t have this to a perfect science yet, it still needs refining.’ The other meaning is that ‘We may not be willing to pay that much for it.’ So, when Mr. Altman suggests “"The truth is somewhere in the middle," he is exactly right. Although the model is very good, it is far from perfect at this early stage. Although the model still has some initial flaws, many of them will be worked out with time.

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