Although far more Massachusetts residents have health insurance coverage than residents nationwide, a significant portion of Bay Staters are still struggling to pay for needed healthcare, a new survey shows...

Thirteen percent of residents with insurance said they were unable to pay for some health services in the past year. The same percentage of insured people said they did not fill at least one prescription because it was too expensive or their insurance copayment was too high. The numbers rise to 14 percent if both insured and uninsured residents are considered.

with 97 percent of Massachusetts adults reporting they have some sort of insurance, according to the survey. Yet for some that did not translate into getting needed care.

It showed that 21% of the total population–and even 12% of children–forgo necessary medical care because they cannot afford it. Of the 21% forgoing care, most (something like 18 or 19%) have health insurance–but it is health insurance they can’t afford to use.

People with robust health insurance are putting off doctors’ appointments and skimping on prescriptions because they can’t afford the increasing costs of copayments and deductibles, according to managers of patient-assistance hot lines in Massachusetts.

Myth 1: This is a universal health care bill.

Fact: The bill is neither universal health care nor universal health insurance. According to the Congressional Budget Office:


* Total uninsured in 2019 with no bill: 54 million

* Total uninsured in 2019 with Senate bill: 24 million


Myth 2: Insurance companies hate this bill.

Fact: This bill is almost identical to the plan written by AHIP, the insurance company trade association, in 2009.
The original Senate Finance Committee bill was authored by a former Wellpoint vice president. Since Congress released the first of its health care bills on October 30, 2009, health care stocks have risen 28.35%.

Under H.R. 3590, a $750 penalty on employers per full time worker not covered if the employer has 50 employees and at least one of their employees qualifies for a premium subsidy in the exchange. H.R 4872 increases the penalty to $2,000 but exempts the first 30 employees from the penalty calculation.

Aside from the secretary of health and human services, the presidential appointee with the most power over the future of the American health-care system is the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare and Medicaid are the country's largest insurers, and reforms and ideas that begin in their shops often spread through the rest of the system. That's a big part of the theory behind the independent commission empowered to reform Medicare: Good ideas that work in Medicare will quickly migrate to the private insurance market.

But CMS has been leaderless for the past year. That was a bit weird, because it's an important job entering a critical time. The Obama administration, however, is finally announcing its choice for the position, and Don Berwick, head of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is getting the nod.

so wtf is obama and the democrats thinking with this bill?
i used to be a democrat until this happened but now i realized that either party is #ed up

Within the first year:

* Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.

* Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

* Young adults will be able to stay on their parents' health plans until the age of 26. Many health plans currently drop dependents from coverage when they turn 19 or finish college.

* Uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.

Myth 1: This is a universal health care bill. Fact: The bill is neither universal health care nor universal health insurance.

Myth 2: Insurance companies hate this bill. Fact: This bill is almost identical to the plan written by AHIP, the insurance company trade association, in 2009.

The 16 million additional people expected to join state Medicaid rolls will mostly be poor, childless adults. Through 2017, the federal government will provide a 100 percent subsidy to cover such people who live in states being forced to expand Medicaid.

But after 2017, Washington will decrease that subsidy, meaning that states will have to pick up some of the costs. By 2020, the federal subsidy will be about 90 percent.

Under the new health care reform plan, 16 million more people are expected to join state Medicaid rolls. Recognizing the costs involved, lawmakers have tried to cushion the financial impact on states. But many governors believe the expansion of Medicaid will still be too costly for them.

Eleven states, plus the District of Columbia, could come out as winners. They’re so-called expansion states, which already cover childless adults to some extent. They could gain because the federal government will absorb an increasing amount of their obligations.