Healthcare Bill Passes; Mass May Be First State to Force Insurance on Individuals
       Legislation designed to deliver health insurance to 95 percent of the uninsured that would not only assess a new tax on business, but would also force people in the state to buy health insurance whether they wanted it or not, has passed in both the state’s House and Senate, and is on Gov. Mitt Romney's desk.
       The Senate 37-0 approved the bill, and the House yesterday lent final approval on a vote of 155-2. The bill requires residents to purchase or obtain an insurance product by July 1, 2007 or face financial penalties of up to $1000. The bill combines expanded entitlement programs like the fraud-wrought Medicaid program (MassHealth), new state subsidies and federal funds, and newly permissible insurance products to expand insurance access.
       DiMasi cautioned that should the bill be signed into law, implementation would require cooperation across a spectrum, including the state and federal governments, health care providers and insurers, employers and individuals. Resistance from any group will threaten the bill's ambitious objective, he said.
       “This is only the beginning,” said DiMasi. “If people resist this bill, it will not be successful.”
       In a press release earlier in the week, Gov. Mitt Romney called passage of the bill “a landmark day for Massachusetts.” Romney was previously opposed to the new $295 tax per uninsured employee on businesses, but has apparently resolved that by convincing himself that it is an “assessment”, not a “tax”. It is believed that Mitt Romney will showcase this “universal” healthcare bill as one of his accomplishments in Massachusetts while he seeks higher national office.
       The plan also includes some type of cost-control measures that have yet to be worked out. Hospitals and physicians will be expected to have their Medicaid reimbursements attached to a “pay for performance” scheme that is still undisclosed in terms of details. Critics point out that legislation that regulates reimbursement may lead providers to lower the quality of their service.
       Despite the overwhelming approval from legislators, there are a number of critics of the bill. Yesterday, Citizens for Limited Taxation released a statement critiquing the concept of the new “assessment” on businesses. They stated:
       “We object in principle to the concept that employers should be paying for health insurance at all. Business provides the jobs that provide not only the paychecks of its employees, but all the revenue money for all state services. It is foolish to jeopardize Massachusetts’s jobs while forcing business to directly provide social services, in this case health care. But as a small business that pays for health care for its four employees, CLT recognizes the present tax advantages of providing this benefit. However, we resent paying more than our share.”