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WinsingtonIII t1_j9zf136 wrote

Shouldn't it be Medicaid/MassHealth for All if it's a Massachusetts bill?

Medicare is federal, the state has no control over it.

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V9luv t1_ja0vmzj wrote

I don’t know Romney Care made my insurance rates go up while coverage got worse. Meanwhile at the same time lots of people got better healthcare for free. Now they just use the emergency room as the doctors office.

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modernhomeowner t1_ja2t48j wrote

Their FAQs talk more about how the trustees that will oversee the health care fund get appointed (this group pushing the initive left slots for their organization to get Trustee positions), and not enough about the actual care covered. So mlany questions.

  • Would you get care out of state? (My cancer doctor is out of state, but what about while traveling too?)
  • What is the "streamlining" process they talk about? Some states, this proposal has meant cutting out fraud prevention as a way to mathematically save money; in reality, we all watch American Greed, there is a ton ofl provider-based medical expense fraud, which would increase the costs to the system if not monitored
  • What if they aren't able to negotiate with a certain provider or for a certain medication - would we still get the state reimbursement for their portion and we pay the rest, or are we just stuck paying cash for that provider and that medication? Right now, if a doctor doesn't want to negotiate, and you have a PPO, you just pay a higher cost, but the majority is still covered - Same with a Medication, it may just be a higher tier; but if they just completely shut it out, you may have to pay the full price... This isn't answered in their FAQs.
  • The providers in MA have very high reimbursement rates in my experience; I pay far more for a dentist or doctor than in other states. Would these doctors keel over, or band together. Would the system just say "we don't need Mass General Brigham and their associated physicians" if they weren't willing to lower their rates? Negotiating is a two way street; maybe the Health Care Trust can hold the line with them, and not negotiate higher; would Mass General and other providers end up lowering wages due to the lower reimbursements? Paying nurses, doctors, technicians, security guards, all less?
  • This is adding a tax to a lot of people, I know for my wife and my coverage, our cost of the tax would be significantly higher than our healthcare cost is now; I know that's not necessarily for everyone, but if you have good coverage from work or a spouse who currently carries your coverage, your costs are going up.
  • On that topic, how many people will leave the state with an extra 10% tax? Was this factored into their numbers? Just like we saw with the recent millionaire tax bill, the people who put the law together fairly projected that many millionaires would leave the state to avoid the tax and projected a lower tax revenue than if they stayed; has this healthcare proposal factored in the revenue loss from more high-taxpayers leaving?
  • It seems like most of the people this is intended to help already can get care with MassHealth or Connector Care. Why don't we just improve Connector Care a tad, rather than uprooting the rest of us - especially with voting for this based on a lacking FAQ; I read the law too, which isn't better.
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Positive-Material t1_ja3siic wrote

Me and my healthcare colleagues will milk that baby for billing fraud like we already do with Medicare and Medicaid. You guys have no idea! Socialism DOES NOT work despite your wishful thinking.

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solarjazzman OP t1_ja3u0d7 wrote

So why are you against it then? Sounds like that’s gonna make you rich :)

How does it work in all other developed countries then? And how is this socialism? Are public schools / police / fire departments are also socialist?

Try to find at least one country that has the same healthcare payer model as the U.S. There are none among developed. We’ve been told these scary stories about public healthcare for way too long, but look at the rest of the world, don’t just blindly believe what you are told.

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Positive-Material t1_ja41ly2 wrote

Well, people who are on Medicare and Medicaid, just demand crazy stuff because it is free and their doctors and nurses just overbill things via fraud. You need combination of capitalism and socialism, but you just can't have a free system, because both patients and providers will milk it.

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solarjazzman OP t1_ja42xbh wrote

Agree that there should be checks in place to prevent and prosecute fraud. It won’t be a simple solution.

That’s why the insurance-paid healthcare is a problem in general. It is broken by design, enabling enrichment of the healthcare providers (hospitals and clinics). The only real solution, I believe, is local government-run clinics and hospitals, just like public schools. Then people will have a choice to either stick with public healthcare or go private (again, just like K-12 schools) supported by local taxes.

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Chippopotanuse t1_ja4q6w5 wrote

How many millionaires have left Mass so far? The whole “rich people will leave if we tax them” really doesn’t carry water. It is used to scare people into voting against their interests.

Bob Kraft ain’t leaving. Nor is someone who is working downtown. Where are they gonna go? To NYC or CA (that have higher taxes?)

And I think COVID showed folks how quickly their jobs can evaporate. Having health care tied to employers is a really fucked up thing that only Americans love and adore.

If you have cancer and are relying upon employer-based health care…better hope you or your spouse never get downsized when a new round of chemo is coming up.

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modernhomeowner t1_ja4tsni wrote

The pro-tax movement, in their own calculations knew some would leave, so it's either dishonest or just head-in-the-sand to say it's not going to happen. That tax was an extra up-to 4%, this is another 10%. I do know there isn't enough information in this healthcare law to really know it's implications. Right now, everything is great in my and a lot of people's healthcare. I wouldn't give up what we have for a plan that isn't even a real plan, just a few ideas. I'm not afraid of the what if I lose my employer plan, there are safety nets of cobra, mass health, connector, etc. What I am afraid of is a bill that says I have to lose my current coverage and didn't say it I can keep my cancer hospital or medications.

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