Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Mass. Health, A Creator Explains, Pt.4 – Things are better than ever.

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Even those households earning over the ‘poor’ limit get a break. They can still buy ‘connector’ enabled private health insurance tax-free and with lower rates. Success has been good; the state has already provided quality health insurance to over a third of a million of those who had no health insurance. That’s well over half of all the state’s uninsured.

The three main sources of health insurance are the ‘Commonwealth Care”, the state’s ‘Connector or the old standard employer-based health insurance. Critics had feared that everyone would dump their employer-based for the ‘better deals’ the state offered. To everyone’s great surprise they were way wrong. The fact is, that Massachusetts was the only state in the country where the number of employer-based plans actually went up! On or ahead of schedule, if this model system continues, almost ever resident in the state will be covered within the next two years.

So, how do these numbers break down? Mr. Romney explains that about 66% of the newbees needing subsidies, thus far, are enrolled with the Commonwealth Care. This is in keeping with the plan’s projections. After the success of this program, the ‘unsubsidized’ program with ‘better than market’ rate health insurance finally followed. It’s still so new, that it’s effects are only now starting to be realized. The effects are very commendable and turned out to be a great investment. As Mr. Romney puts it, “Hundreds of thousands of people are receiving better health care, including preventive care and treatment for chronic ailments”. This ‘oz. of prevention’ is expected to yield a great savings in the long run by avoiding “acute -- and expensive -- conditions in the future,” as Mitt words it.

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