The same research by The Commonwealth Fund also found that Massachusetts residents have access to the best care in the nation. The state also has the lowest percentage of uninsured nationwide. Non-group insurance plans decreased in cost 40%. 70% of doctors support the reforms.
The reforms weren’t intended to save money and health care costs are within projections. The state is currently working on ways to drive down premiums.
Now, I don’t think it’s fair to deny that the reforms have led to increases in cost (but again–that was projected). One also can’t deny that Massachusetts has proven that it’s possible to provide near universal coverage while maintaining a high quality of care.
I think Massachusetts is just a big case for making sure that cost savings measures are part of “Obamacare”.
The three ideas presented in this video are fair. #1 would work, but it isn’t necessary with universal or near universal coverage. Mass. did a great job of providing options for those below the poverty level. #2 sounds good, but would take some major re-work of our system and how programs like Medicare are administered (though I imagine everyone on this blog wants to get rid of Medicare). #3 is fine–I am a big fan of my HSA.
I’ve listened to Gratzer before. Most recently, he worked with Giuliani and was famous for spreading completely false cancer statistics. He was called out on it during the campaign. Gratzer also loves to talk about the waiting lines in Canada. We could have had better health care starting in the 90s if it wasn’t for the fact we hate lines for non-emergencies so much.
December 7th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
The same research by The Commonwealth Fund also found that Massachusetts residents have access to the best care in the nation. The state also has the lowest percentage of uninsured nationwide. Non-group insurance plans decreased in cost 40%. 70% of doctors support the reforms.
The reforms weren’t intended to save money and health care costs are within projections. The state is currently working on ways to drive down premiums.
http://www.massmed.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home6&CONTENTID=32276&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm
Now, I don’t think it’s fair to deny that the reforms have led to increases in cost (but again–that was projected). One also can’t deny that Massachusetts has proven that it’s possible to provide near universal coverage while maintaining a high quality of care.
I think Massachusetts is just a big case for making sure that cost savings measures are part of “Obamacare”.
The three ideas presented in this video are fair. #1 would work, but it isn’t necessary with universal or near universal coverage. Mass. did a great job of providing options for those below the poverty level. #2 sounds good, but would take some major re-work of our system and how programs like Medicare are administered (though I imagine everyone on this blog wants to get rid of Medicare). #3 is fine–I am a big fan of my HSA.
I’ve listened to Gratzer before. Most recently, he worked with Giuliani and was famous for spreading completely false cancer statistics. He was called out on it during the campaign. Gratzer also loves to talk about the waiting lines in Canada. We could have had better health care starting in the 90s if it wasn’t for the fact we hate lines for non-emergencies so much.
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/is_health_care_better_in_canada.html