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Massachuseets Small Compaines Cancel Health Ins.

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canoeist52 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:14 PM
Original message
Massachuseets Small Compaines Cancel Health Ins.

"The relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting some small Massachusetts companies to drop coverage for their workers and encourage them to sign up for state-subsidized care instead, a trend that, some analysts say, could eventually weigh heavily on the state’s already-stressed budget.

Since April 1, the date many insurance contracts are renewed for small businesses, the owners of about 90 small companies terminated their insurance plans with Braintree-based broker Jeff Rich and indicated in a follow-up survey that they were relying on publicly-funded insurance for their employees."

http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/07/18/firms_cancel_health_coverage/
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aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:16 PM
Response to Original message
1. Health care should NOT be linked to employment.
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Liberal_in_LA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:16 PM
Response to Original message
2. uh oh.
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MadMaddie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 07:27 PM
Response to Reply #2
8. Even without the Health Care Bill they would have been
in the same situation. It's not like costs were going down.
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frazzled Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:21 PM
Response to Original message
3. That would lead to single-payer ...
That is why we all wanted a public option, right? As more and more people opted for it, it would become as close to single payer as we could get, and the private insurance industry would become obsolete. So I guess I'm not clear on all the ruh-oh here.
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sandnsea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:23 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. There you go
That's what everybody who supported HCR said. Either insurance has to make it work, or it would lead to single payer. And that is exactly what is happening in MA.
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sandnsea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:22 PM
Response to Original message
4. See. This is how you move to single payer
Either insurance companies make it work for employers, or the employers will move the workers on to the government.

And then people will have to decide to have single payer... or die.

So there you go. Subsidized insurance IS a step toward single payer and the only way this country is going to get there.
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MineralMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:24 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. You may just be right about that.
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Schema Thing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 07:51 PM
Response to Reply #4
9. damn right
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Fumesucker Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jul-19-10 05:55 AM
Response to Reply #4
15. I don't see it..
Individual private insurance is exactly the opposite of single payer.

Employers aren't moving workers to a government plan, they are moving them to purchase their own private insurance with a *possible* government subsidy.
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geckosfeet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 03:37 PM
Response to Original message
7. Hmmph. The state giveaway to the insurance corps is not working out so well - eh Mitt?
Edited on Sun Jul-18-10 03:41 PM by geckosfeet
On edit:

The MA plan mirrors the national plan in some ways. The central issue exemplified by the article in the OP is that insurance companies can raise rates, even though everyone is REQUIRED to buy insurance.

It's a madhouse.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 07:54 PM
Response to Original message
10. Won't people go ahead and accept risinng costs if they're getting what they want for their money, so
is there a rising-costs:falling marketability situation here?
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BzaDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 07:55 PM
Response to Original message
11. The Federal government will be taking over most of the costs in 2014. n/t
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eridani Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jul-19-10 03:52 AM
Response to Reply #11
13. Bullshit. The feds will be imposing most of the costs on consumers of health care n/t
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rucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jul-19-10 05:43 AM
Response to Reply #11
14. I think the numbers for the HCR plan were based on the assumption
that the number of group plans will stay the same, and be largely unaffected by the reform bill. If the number on individual plans grows significantly, it will put a larger burden on the government programs (and increase the number of people who will see an increase in premiums because they don't qualify for subsidies).

As always, nobody's asking why the group plans are going up. I think it's the insurance industry's way of sinking HCR.
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SunnySong Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jul-18-10 09:47 PM
Response to Original message
12. Plenty of small companies eliminated insurance this year not just in Mass...
The difference is in mass there is an other option.
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