MA healthcare plan: "driving hospitals towards bankruptcy,making it difficult to see a doctor"

[steve2470]

John Fund says this in the WSJ. Is this pure nonsense or any truth in it ?

" Nonetheless, Mr. Brown is clearly sensitive—and a tad defensive—about his state's own universal health-care system. It now covers about 95% of the population; but it has also led to the nation's highest insurance premiums. It is driving hospitals towards bankruptcy and making it more difficult for people to see a doctor. Mr. Brown voted for the system in 2006 when it was proposed by then-GOP Gov. Mitt Romney. 'Of course, it can be made better,' Mr. Brown says today. 'But it was bipartisan and it fit our local needs. We were being eaten alive by health-care costs.' Universal coverage hasn't changed that, however. "

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703389004575033160663975610.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Warpy]

1. And leaving a huge gap between people who are poor enough

to afford the state plan and people who are rich enough to afford private insurance.

It threw all middle class people, especially small business owners, to the wolves from Day 1.

[Ian David]

2. Hospitals have been going bankrupt ALL OVER the country for the past 8 years. n/t

[Xipe Totec]

3. Not at the rate they have in MASS n/t

[pinto]

4. Geez. I hate it when journalists drop an assertion into a piece without any citation or supporting

data -

"It is driving hospitals towards bankruptcy and making it more difficult for people to see a doctor."

If that's accurate, one line of source data would support his statement. I looked at the Massachusetts Hospital Association's website and could find no mention of a rash of bankruptcies. Nor any mention of it as an issue.

:shrug:

[gateley]

5. Question(s) about the plan --

Is it what we would consider a single payer plan?

How is it funded?

Did MA negotiate with suppliers/pharmaceutical companies/physicians, etc., and get their support before implementing the plan?

I'm just curious because I've heard that France is running into problems, too (and that's where I was going to move, in my Fantasy!).

So, I'm just wondering what the plan is, and if it's not working, what can we do to insure it doesn't happen on a national level?

Are for-profit insurance carriers involved in any way?

Thanks for any enlightenment!

[PHIMG]

6. Nope it was the model for what is being considered in DC

It is Private Insurane MANDATE and SUBSIDIZE.

Mandate that everyone buy the insurers defective product.

And shovel trillions of tax payer funded dollars at the highly profitable insurers so more people can by the defective product.

Sure there are more rules and regulations that try to address Big Insurance's worst abuses but this just adds more complexity to the system.

This is 180 degrees from Single Payer which cuts costs and returns choice to patients and the authority to make medical decisions to doctors.

There will be a problem with expanding access to healthcare in that there are limited providers. A single payer system will help somewhat. Big Insurance's rules and regulations are driving good doctors out of medicine. A lot of doctors and nurses were hired away into big insurance also to deny claims. These people would presumably go back to medicine.

Anyway we go we need to break the AMA's stranglehold on new medical schools/seats.

[gateley]

9. Thanks so much -- now I understand. It sounds like what we have available

now, except that we don't have the option of deciding whether or not we participate! It honestly sounds like something the Republicans would love -- more money for their insurance donors! :grr:

My dad was a doctor and I can't tell you how many times I've thought he would be just livid if an insurance company was the entity making the decision on what was best for his patients.

The whole for-profit thing just has to go. I understand that the industry represents a chunk of our GNP, but still...

Thanks again!

[eppur_se_muova]

10. And yet the Republicans approved it? Go figure.

ETA: Thanks for providing a report from on location. That's handy information to know.

[Greyhound]

7. K&R for yet another "told you so" moment.

[Betty]

8. I live in MA.

have to buy insurance or pay a fine. Since I make "too much" money to get any subsidy, I can only afford the cheapest private insurance plan, which is basically a catastrophic coverage . It went up 25% for this coming year. Last year, it had gone up about 10%. Yes, MA health care works just fucking great.