Oops! Massachusetts’ ‘Romneycare’
Smells A Lot Like ‘Obamacare’
By Grace Wiltbank
Contributing Writer
As the field of potential Republican presidential nominees narrows almost daily, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney looks more and more like the man who will get the nod — except for one stumbling block: the universal health insurance system he created for Massachusetts while governor.
Gov. Romney has turned himself inside-out, trying to separate himself from the Massachusetts plan, which was the model for the new federal health insurance reform law — nicknamed “Obamacare” and loathed by the arch-conservatives who now dominate the Republican Party. Opposition to Obamacare is the litmus test for capturing any kind of GOP nomination.
As a headline writing genius at The Philadelphia Inquirer put it — “Mitt Romney Put His Greatest Feat In His Mouth.”
The headline topped a May 18 article by Robert Field, professor of law and public health at Drexel University, who writes frequently about health insurance issues.
This time, Prof. Field wrote: “Pity poor Mitt Romney. His signature accomplishment as governor of Massachusetts is now his albatross.” Prof. Field said that “Romneycare,” as it is called, has brought Massachusetts the “lowest rate of un-insurance in the country, a mere 2%.” He said the effort to enact Romneycare “was bipartisan and collaborative” and that the new law now “enjoys wide support” among Massachusetts residents and the state’s physicians, hospitals, business leaders and community activists.
It is a shame, Prof. Field said “that healthcare has become so polarized that a true bipartisan success causes political harm.”
The Massachusetts law, enacted in 2006, mandates that nearly every Massachusetts resident obtain a state-regulated minimal level of health insurance coverage. It also provides free health insurance (public insurance) for residents earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level who are not eligible for Medicaid and also partially subsidizes health insurance for those earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level.
Romneycare also established an independent agency, the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, to act as an insurance broker offering private insurance plans to residents. The plan includes tax penalties for those who fail to obtain health insurance. The plan merged the individual (non-group) insurance market into a small group market to allow individuals to get lower group rates. The law also calls for payment increases to hospitals and physicians but these increases have not yet been put into effect.
Employers with more than 10 full-time employees must provide a “fair and reasonable contribution” to the health insurance premium for their employees. Employers who do not comply are assessed an annual — “fairshare contribution” not to exceed $295 per employee per year.
Massachusetts residents must indicate on their tax forms if they have insurance, or show they have a waiver for religious or affordability reasons. Beginning in 2008, the penalty on residents for lack of coverage was up to half the cost of the lowest available yearly premium, up to a maximum penalty of $912 per year.
However, the Massachusetts plan is not without its problems. One is people who are gaming the system. They buy insurance when faced with an immediate medical need and drop it after treatment, opting to pay the penalty rather than continued insurance premiums.
The New York Times reported on March 9 of this year that increased demand for care from the newly insured in Massachusetts was “confronting an insufficient supply of willing physicians.”
According to The Times, “one in five adults said they had been told in the last 12 months that a doctor or clinic was not accepting new patients or would not see patients with their type of insurance.”
“The rejection rates for low income adults and those with public insurance were double the rates for higher income residents and those with private coverage,” the Times reported.
Smells A Lot Like ‘Obamacare’
By Grace Wiltbank
Contributing Writer
As the field of potential Republican presidential nominees narrows almost daily, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney looks more and more like the man who will get the nod — except for one stumbling block: the universal health insurance system he created for Massachusetts while governor.
Gov. Romney has turned himself inside-out, trying to separate himself from the Massachusetts plan, which was the model for the new federal health insurance reform law — nicknamed “Obamacare” and loathed by the arch-conservatives who now dominate the Republican Party. Opposition to Obamacare is the litmus test for capturing any kind of GOP nomination.
As a headline writing genius at The Philadelphia Inquirer put it — “Mitt Romney Put His Greatest Feat In His Mouth.”
The headline topped a May 18 article by Robert Field, professor of law and public health at Drexel University, who writes frequently about health insurance issues.
This time, Prof. Field wrote: “Pity poor Mitt Romney. His signature accomplishment as governor of Massachusetts is now his albatross.” Prof. Field said that “Romneycare,” as it is called, has brought Massachusetts the “lowest rate of un-insurance in the country, a mere 2%.” He said the effort to enact Romneycare “was bipartisan and collaborative” and that the new law now “enjoys wide support” among Massachusetts residents and the state’s physicians, hospitals, business leaders and community activists.
It is a shame, Prof. Field said “that healthcare has become so polarized that a true bipartisan success causes political harm.”
The Massachusetts law, enacted in 2006, mandates that nearly every Massachusetts resident obtain a state-regulated minimal level of health insurance coverage. It also provides free health insurance (public insurance) for residents earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level who are not eligible for Medicaid and also partially subsidizes health insurance for those earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level.
Romneycare also established an independent agency, the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, to act as an insurance broker offering private insurance plans to residents. The plan includes tax penalties for those who fail to obtain health insurance. The plan merged the individual (non-group) insurance market into a small group market to allow individuals to get lower group rates. The law also calls for payment increases to hospitals and physicians but these increases have not yet been put into effect.
Employers with more than 10 full-time employees must provide a “fair and reasonable contribution” to the health insurance premium for their employees. Employers who do not comply are assessed an annual — “fairshare contribution” not to exceed $295 per employee per year.
Massachusetts residents must indicate on their tax forms if they have insurance, or show they have a waiver for religious or affordability reasons. Beginning in 2008, the penalty on residents for lack of coverage was up to half the cost of the lowest available yearly premium, up to a maximum penalty of $912 per year.
However, the Massachusetts plan is not without its problems. One is people who are gaming the system. They buy insurance when faced with an immediate medical need and drop it after treatment, opting to pay the penalty rather than continued insurance premiums.
The New York Times reported on March 9 of this year that increased demand for care from the newly insured in Massachusetts was “confronting an insufficient supply of willing physicians.”
According to The Times, “one in five adults said they had been told in the last 12 months that a doctor or clinic was not accepting new patients or would not see patients with their type of insurance.”
“The rejection rates for low income adults and those with public insurance were double the rates for higher income residents and those with private coverage,” the Times reported.
