LEWISTON, Maine — Louis Bourgoin seems an unlikely symbol of the latest battle over health care spending. The 68-year-old retired shipyard worker is undergoing chemotherapy for liver cancer. He lives in a state once renowned for its efforts to insure the poor, and Mainers stood to benefit even more under President Obama’s health care plan.
Then the letter from the administration of Governor Paul LePage arrived. Bourgoin and his wife were told last month they were about to lose thousands of dollars in annual Medicaid benefits starting in March.
Comments
He's a guaranteed one termer. What a knuckle head.
someone should tell the 68 year old about medicare
You get what you vote for. If the 65 year-old who works retail doesn't want medicare, so be it.
Until, of course, he ends up in an emergency room and we all end up paying for it.
Well, he was elected fair and square.
and he wont reelected fair and square....
This policy of moral desolation is no suprise to those who follow the one term adventures of tea bag Paul Lepage in the Pine Tree state. When you cast your lot with the Tea Party you need a strong gag reflex to cope with what crawls out of the pot. Paul Lepage and Mary Mayhew are a pair that will beat a full house every time. The next election cycle may not, probably will not, come fast enough to succor this poor couple and many like them. What can you say about this actuarial stalanism.
And the crazies talk about the "Obama death panels..." Here's a death panel if I ever saw one.
Glad I live in Massachusetts...wow.
same here!
This is great. We simply don't have the money to pay for other peoples' healthcare. Rely on charity, if you must, but let's all do more to take care of ourselves rather than being required to pay for our neighbor.
No Empathy for fellow humans!!! I am sure were not nourished on your mother's milk rathen on Baby formula!
Guess you were born with out the empathy gene.
I cannot fathom how any person, any politician or any citizen of this nation can be as inhumane as this. Makes me angry and sad and angry all over again. Mainers, you may have voted for this man but you deserve better.
"angry and sad" are becoming the new norms. Everyone is fair game, even the sick and dying. Our government "leaders", corporate bigs, they have all turned their backs on the sick the poor, and on any hope for a civilized America.
Let's be honest - the very people who'll suffer the most are the people who voted for this guy.
Who voted for this knucklehead???? A real man of the people.
The real crux of the issue is allowing low income people to continue to reproduce. Both Perez and Garner, cited in the article, have 4 and 3 kids, respectively. They each should have none or maybe 1 child. The rising costs for the Medicaid program is only one of the social/public policy issues with which our society must deal. We've got to get back to sensible population control, particularly among the low income. They cannot continue to reproduce so many of the next generation's low income social welfare recipients.
Ah, so you believe in eugenics? Only the wealthy should survive and reproduce? You, ghi408, must not be a true American.
Your conservative phiosophy does not allow birth control!!! You care the soul only in womb not outside!!!
Will Governor Paul LePage attend the funeral of the first victim of his veto thereby celebrating his veto? And does he think that there will be only one victim. I repeat what I've stated in my previous Comments over time about this issue of healthcare, The Affordable Care Act is a Republican healthcare plan. Gingrich, Santorum et al of the conservative wing of that party all praised it when Governor Romney helped design and pass it into law in Massachusetts. Don't take my word, Google it. I call it ObamneyCare. Not the SinglePayer Plan I liked but acceptable for regular American citizens not currently insured. Note that they all have their healthcare covered.
someone should tell the 68yr old about medicare
Someone should tell you that Medicare costs money.
Yes it does. And I, along with millions of other responsible citizens, am happy to pay for it.
the tea party knows how to inflict pain on others they are selfish nitwitts but what goes around comes around this guy will get his soon enough
Not necessarily, alas. What he deserves is too horrible to hope for.
With all due respect, dc, name calling won't solve the problem, nor will coupling ALL tea partiers as "nitwits." The key is to find the common ground in "their" cause and "our's" and then begin "selling" this. This type of approach requires heavy lifting and a willingness to listen carefully. Unfortunately, we're all too inclined to simply default to "us versus them" thinking these days. This is emotionally easy and perhaps satisfying, but yields little to nothing of value.
Upon entering office, LePage had a 36 foot wide, 11-panel mural that showed the history of labor in Maine, removed from the Dept of Labor building because "someone" said it was pro-union. He then went on to rename comference rooms that had been named after labor leaders.
This week he signed a law that made concealed carry permits private. He's been refusing to meet with the state legislature's Democratic leaders, and last month called a group of independent legislators idiots and stormed out of a meeting. A few weeks ago he said he is "afraid" of newspapers and prefers radio and TV because they don't "spin" the news. Really - he said that.
He has continually voiced his objections to the health care law, saying it will help kill people because it "rations" health care, a claim that's been repeatedly debunked. I'm pretty sure, though, that his plan to cut Medicaid will kill people, indirectly, because they won't be able to get the care and medications they need.
I'll bet that Maine voters, after seeing what happens in a low turnout election, show up next year and make this guy a one-term governor. Unless the lack of medical care has killed them off.
l'm sure this article makes good reading for the people of Massachusetts (I am from MA), highlighting just how wonderful MA is compared to Maine, but let's add some info to what you said about Lepage signing the bill to make concealed carry permit holder information unavailable to the general public- It was crafted and singed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Maine Statehouse this week because people in Maine didn't want the names of police, judges, battered women and the like who carry guns to be so readily available to others. Not that I Like LePage, because I don't, but not everything in Maine is inferior to MA. There's a lot to be said for their humble manners, better drivers, lower cost way of living and so on. Lepage won by virtue of a tight, 3 way gubernatorial election. I highly doubt he'll be reelected either.
Well Written.
To clear things up LePage was elected by only 38% of the vote. The other 62% of the vote was divided between a Democrat and an Independent. LePage barely beat the Independent (moderate) Cutler who received 37% of the vote. LePage was the only Tea Partier / Right Winger in the election. This wasn't a victory for LePage it was a defeat of the Democrat Libby Mitchell who refused to concede when it was obvious Eliot Cutler had her beat hands down. Mitchell ended up with 19% of the vote and stole the election for LePage. The people of Maine (except the most rabid in the Tea Party) loathe LePage and he will not win a second term.
I live in Boston these days but grew up in Maine and all of my family is from there. LePage is a disgrace.
Thanks for the clarification!
This is a great example of why we should have IRV (Instant Run-off Elections) instead of the current winner-take-all system.
the lepage administration should be changed to the PolPot regime....
An angry, loathsome little governor.
May you burn in hell Paul LePage.
Jennifer Webb's husband should be entitled to VA benefits and disability. He should run, not walk, to the nearest DAV. VFW, American Legion Service Officer and file a claim. If he doesn't, she should quit whining. Yes, Medicare does cost something but paying 20% instead of 100% kind of makes sense. As retired military, my wife and I are on Tri Care, but we still have to pay for Medicare. Still a great deal. Paul LePage is not doing the Tea Party any favors. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
I would think he probable applied and may not be eligile for one reason or another. In that we don't have all of the facts it is a bit presumptive to assume he didn't try already. As to Medicare you assume he is insured for Medicare coverage. Not everyone has the reauired quarters of coverage for that particular program. A good many self-employed people aren't insured for Medicare. You know small businessmen who play with their numbers in order to avoid paying the Medicare taxes. There are a lot more of them out there than folks realize.
I'm sorry I don't know what I was thinking it's early. The fact is being on Medicaid he would have been "required" to apply for any of those programs for which he is eligible. Medicaid is always the secondary payer if a primary can be located. In fact Medicaid will pay the monthly premium for Medicare if the client is eliglble. That being the case this individual is not eliligible for whatever reason in terms of these other programs.
I'm sure some of those who've commented will look at my "exteacher" screen name and dismiss my comments as coming from another of those who succor at the public trough. Regardless, I don't know how much longer LePage has in office, but is a recall petition not feasible? Can the legislature do nothing to neutralize his action? A governor is not a dictator; supposedly there are checks and balances in our form of government. I should think someone(s) on either side of the aisle can take action. And, this isn't meant to seem heartless, but how many of those who will be affected by his actions actually voted for him? It might be somewhat surprising if the truth be known. When you elect someone because they rant about the government as "the enemy", or promise to cut your taxes, or other such blather, you might want to think about how much you, personally, benefit from that very same government and the taxes you pay. Our deteriorating infrastructure is but one example of the "no new taxes" mantra. To cite just one example, think about the Route 1 bridge between Kittery and Portsmouth. If it had been maintained as it should have, we wouldn't be replacing it and inconveniencing thousands of people during reconstruction. And what if either or both of the other bridges between Maine and NH were to suddenly be unusable due to lack of maintenance or some sudden act of nature. Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society (Justice Oliver W. Holmes). There's no free ride. Though there are those who would lead you to believe that those who receive some sort of government benefit are getting a free ride, but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes, would you?
I'm glad you're an ex teacher. Two minutes Googling "Maine recall procedures" made it clear that there is no provision for recall elections for state officials in Maine. A lot of states adopted the reforms advocated by the Progressive movement 100 years ago (initiative, referendum and recall), a lot of states, apparently including Maine, didn't. Shouldn't a teacher have been able to figure that out?
"[N]o free ride."? Are you serious? That's the entire problem. So many lazy non-working people are on the free ride program over the generations that when the lower income folks who work and contribute need help, there isn't much left for them.
Let's see whay we got here now....La-Pierre, La-Page, and the Tea Party is the party of La-Dopes.
Lepage for President! It's hard to believe there are so many crooks and heartless leaches in society who think it's their right to steal from pockets of hard working taxpayers. Those who favor endless help to the unfortunate are free to donate as much as needed of their own funds. Charity is the perfect solution. The argument this method would not raise sufficient funds is false. There is so many out there that want to help that this should not be a problem unless they themselves are cheap and hypocritical and not true to their cause.
As with one of the above, it is clear you've never benefitted from at least one public/governmendeprogrammed: education.
rsox2007- move to Florida. You'll love it there. Rick Scott has successfully dismantled almost ALL govt services, and by refusing fedral money, crippled the state's economy.
Strange, we had the money for Iraq and Afganistan conflicts, but for people in need; sorry we are out off money?
I do blame this on the voters, though.
Yes, and we have millions upon millions going to other countries! Even to countries that hate us. Obama should stop this practice and take care of the people in this country first! But like every other president before him he won't, simply because we have to pay to be their friends. A disgusting practice if there ever was one!
How cruel, so very cruel. If you must make a stand about some political belief, don't make it a choice between money and the lives of your citizens. Really, the lives of your citizens. Governor, you "win", some die. Is Vermont better off? Are you proud?
Impeachment seems appropriate. A leader's job is to protect the citizens of his country or state. They take an oath to do so. When petty politics trumps this oath and citizens are no longer protected--and even harmed--by one's political ideology, then remove him quickly.
hotdoger, TOTALLY agree!
Sorry, of course I meant Maine (not Vermont).
LePage and his ilk are simply using an immoral logic to support their argument. As we all know there are plenty of working poor. In fact they represent the majority of medicaid enrollees. Le Page is just using the "welfare state" claim as an excuse to justify his lack of morality and empathy for those less fortunate. He is a disgusting, poor excuse for a governor and for a human being. And shame on the Obama administration for signing off on his plan.
He's using the "welfare state" claim as an excuse to justify his racism. That's they whole tea party in a nutshell.
I wonder how many of these 44,000 may have actually voted for LaPage, maybe having been swept up in a lot of conservative/patriotic rheteroic, without really listening to what the clown is all about. Unforunately, much of the electorate in this country is so completely uninformed about the actual policies of the people they vote for (let's say it...dumb), and simply get swept up by easy to digests "information McNuggets", by the likes of Limbaugh, Fox "News", and guys like LaPierre. I'll bet a lot of these peope shot themselves in their own foot at the voting booth. Live and learn.
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LePage is an IDIOT!!! AND EMBARRASSEMENT to New England. His days in office are numbered. Mainers you
get what you vote for. The Repubican Party is NOT the party of Margaret Chase Smith that's for sure. Yes, traditions die hard but Mainers, KNOW what you are voting for and CHANGE YOUR WAYS.
This is what you get when you vote tea baggies in office. The fault dear Brutus is not in the stars but in ourselves. I do not want to say you get what you deserve because you vote these morons into office on the other hand you do. So RETHINK this Repubilcan tradition in Maine. EVERYONE should rethink putting a checkmark voting Republican.
Austerity does NO good when we are in such a terrible economic crisis brought on by mostly Republican Wall Street banksters ESPECIALLY during the Bush years. He paid for a HUGE war on a credit card and that war is lasting 10 years and counting. IT affects ALL of us and ALL the states. For the states to elect tea baggies in this climate is just plain NUTS.
I have empathy for you Mainers who need Medcaid through NO fault of your own. For some it is the difference between life and death. What do Repubicans who have all the money care about a poor person dying. Answer: NOTHING. In their world it is good if the weak die off and the government let them. In MY world that is tantamount to murder!
@nrosen, not sure how much good it will do, but I can't let a couple of your assertions go unchallenged.
For starters, regardless of what one may think of the Iraqi and Afghan wars they hardly "bankrupted" the country. Even during the height of the wars our defense spending was about a third of what it was in the 60's when you measure it as a percentage of the overall budget. By that same measure, entitlement spending (payments to individuals) has more than tripled and is now, if memory serves, about two thirds of our overall federal budget.
As for the "banksters," you'll need to find another villain. What made the last recession so deep was the size of the credit bubble created by too many people taking on mortgages they could not afford. Everything beyond that -- including the financial market collapse -- was collateral damage when those credit notes came due, bursting the bubble.
With all due respect, you can't fix a problem if you don't understand why it occurred in the first place, and I think you're relying on too much liberal dogma to form your opinions.
Globe, Unless it's my computer, it looks like your arrangement of posts under "latest first" might be off.
A forty hour week at $10.00 an hour comes to $400. Subtract taxes, rent, and meager food and there is nothing left. You could never buy health insurance with what is left. Stop beating people up. We have a system that punishes people for earning a minimum amount of money. Bring home a few hundred dollars a week and you lose access to all benefits. The tea party is a fraud. Punish them for earning so much they don't need Medicare. Take away every benefit they take from society. If they really believed in limited government, they should start with themselves. This is disgusting.
The sad part of this story is that it is one manifestation of the class warfare in this country. It ends up that the poor slobs at the bottom of the pile fight each other, rather than recognizing that the real problem is the economic system that makes it impossible for honest, hardworking people to put in an honest days work, get an honest day's pay, and have enough to pay for all of life, including heath care. That ain't happening.
Lepage thinks the enemy is the takers on Medicaid. He's so wrong. The real enemy is the guy who's paying his citizens 10.26/hour. The real enemy is the guy who's living large after selling his citizens cars, internet access, cell phones, etc etc etc, with enough profit to pay for those yachts they see in the harbor in the summer. The biggest enemies are the ones that nobody really sees, because they're buried in the middle of the process, siphoning off money. The venture capitalists who drain money in the middle of the stream, and end up with private jets while the honest folks doing the work can't even pay the bills.
It is impossible to really understand this situation by just looking at how much a pill costs, or how much any given medical procedure costs, or how much money is contributed by either the state or local government.
I suspect Gov Le Page is trying to force his state's disabled/poor to move to MA for health coverage.
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Whoa! Lets think about the repercussions beyond Maine. These sick folks will be departing Maine ASAP. They will be emmigrating south where they can get on Medicaid. This is nothing but poor and old people dumping by LePage and the Tea Party. Sure he won't be re-elected in 3 years but the deaths, emmigration and costs to Mainers will be longlasting. Sounds like what the Brits did to the Irish during the famine of 1845-1853. Other New England states must respond and put up barriers against these old and sick Mainers coming and exploiting our Treasury. They voted LePage in, they should have to live with his policies. Tough Love-
I feel terrible for these people, but the blame lies with the people of Maine, who voted for this jerk. Hopefully they'll know better next time.
Paul LePage is -- well, I can't say what I really think of this contemptible toad. It wouldn't be proper for a family paper. If this is what the Republican party stands for, they richly deserve their falling poll numbers.
I'll bet Last Page goes to church every Sunday, being the good christian that he is!
Absolutely disgusting. We need to rid the country of the Tea Bag scourge immediately.
Thank god for the Tea Party. Hopefully we won't have to read these biased, one-sided "news" stories once the Globe is sold. Hope the new owners will make it a NEWSpaper once again instead of the Pravda of the leftist wing of the Democratyic party. The 35 year old who is on disability because he had to walk to work is a joke. Your hearts bleed until intil its time to pay...then it's someone elses problem.
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“This state has become a welfare state, and Medicaid is part of the problem,” said Gyorfi, a sales associate in the sporting goods department at Kmart. “You have those people who rely on Medicaid for a long time and they become addicted to it. They need to be weaned off the system.”
This man clearly does not understand the meaning of "wean." He thinks it means "throw them off a cliff."
As with the diminishment of the Tea Party on a national level, in the next few years, we will witness its disappearance on the state and local levels. Its proponents have let so-called ideology eviscerate their compassion. Nothing would be more appropriate than for all of them to lose their incomes and health insurance. Let's see what they think then.
You couldn't be any more wrong.
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So who pays in Maine when the uninsured show up at the Emergency Room (hint: not them)?
I certainly hope he's a one termer. Where do people think the charities are going to get the money to help the physically and mentally disabled people. It is true, that some display poor use of the assistance, but remember, these people can not function on their own and will be out on the street if we don't help them. I, for one, do not wish to expose myself to the constant pain of knowing that my selfishness contributed to their further pain. I am always short of money, but it is because I don't manage my finances well. I am a senior on a fixed income and sometimes indulge myself irresponsibly. Does this description fit you?
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What is the governor's health coverage and who pays for it?
ou liberals had better wake up and see what is happening to this contry.This admonistration who the media is in LOVE with is going to put us in so much debt we will never get out of it. There is a lot more to worry about then Medicaid. We are losing our freedoms every day soon we will be a complete nanny state the Governement controlling us. I want no part of socialism. WAKE UP this administration is using scare tactics now. Read your history books, get educated oh by the way the history books are being altered already they donnot want us to know the truth.
Okay, leinad1, we'll put you incharge of telling these people they're off the books, that they have to chose between food or mecicine, that the children can't have medical care. That's what the Tea Party leaves you. Good luck with that. Heartlessness must be covered by your insurance.
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Per CNN, Maine is the 2nd biggest Welfare state in the Nation, after California. 3rd is Tennessee. And 4th is TAXACHUSETTS...I take it that all of the bloggers here are ALSO collecting Welfare...Obama and Deval and the Globe all say"Why work when you can just collect money from those who do work in the private sector? ..That's the definition of "FAIRNESS".
LePage was elected by a minority of the voters because a very capable and good independent candidate split the vote with the democratic candidate, and LePage oozed into office. As bad as this Medicaid plan of his is, he also just announced no more revenue sharing with the towns, so all of us will see vastly increased local property taxes if we want to maintain our police, schools, roads, etc. LePage just keeps getting worse and worse. And no, I do not beleive he will be re-elected. I sure hope it is not a three-way race again.
Same reason we got Bill Clinton....
Evil comes in many shapes.
Yup! that's the Republican's for you. Only thinking of ONE THING, their money! They have no hearts or souls! They are the right hand of the Corporate Machine that can't get enough of everything and leave the rest of us without anything! In otherwords, they are the personificaiton of GREED! And if I remember my Bible teachings, that's one of the SEVEN DEADLY SINS! May they enjoy their eternity in HELL!
rcessebo, given the tone of your post can we safely assume you will not be so stingy with YOUR money and, having the heart and soul found lacking in Republicans, begin sending this family a monthly check to cover their insurance costs?
Ideology before people, that's the Tea Party for you. It's also what the GOP has become.
To continue to spend money we dont have is not an option. Whether it is Federal or State money it is basically water from the same well.We must ween people off dependance of the govt as it continues to grow and is unsustainable. I just wish we would take care of our own before sending BILLIONS across the world.
I'm originally from Mississippi, and LePage reminds me of the kind of politician who flourishes down there.
News flash: More Yea Party pain to be felt all on March 1st. Where were these guys when W was paying for two wars on the credit card of the American people or do they simply like killing people in other countries as much as the poor folks of Maine.
I couldn't agree more.
If all we have are Republicans who spend like Democrats then we're sure to head down the same fiscal road as Greece, Italy, Spain, and France.
We all understand that freeloading has got to be ended with regard to healthcare. But, this is over the edge just as most Tea Party solutions are. This statement puts it well: “We’re using stereotypes, rhetoric, and ideology to create public policy and that’s always easier and resonates more than looking at the facts,”. Sure there are always going to those who "game" the system. But that is not good reason to hurt those who are not gaming the system and need the benefits. There have got to be better ways to accomplish oversight of the system rather than just kicking people to the curb.
Your party never finds "better ways to accomplish oversight" and vote against those that do. Now that is what is "over the edge"...
My previous comment has been removed for a reason the Globe censor failed to tell me.I think I know the reason. I made reference to the breasts of the State and using the correct, not the slang, term. Still it got removed. The censor must be a descendant of the early Pilgrims.
My point was that shortchanging the people is not the way to go. First, cut costs by stopping needless wars. Do you know that the US is still paying the interest on borrowed money for WWI? I'm not saying WWI was needless. I point only to the costs of that war.
Then there are the hidden costs of Black Ops of the CIA, unaccountable to the Congress and the American people. Oh, and what are we doing at 60,000 feet up? You don't know? Just look up once in a while and ask why and who is paying for this. I know, tax payers. Look at our bloated military and our 800 needless military installations all over the world. We have become a world Empire at great costs to the American people. We have the money to take care of our people but it is sqaundered in the wrong direction. Also, send foreigh aid back to the people. I could go on about waste.
As for the loathsome term "Free Rider." Those that favor that term overlook the fact that the welfare system is for all people, even those, now able and working, who perhaps some day may need that help. It is wrong also to say that everyone on welfare is cheating the State. You don't know one way or the other. Of course, there is always fraud but to state that the majority of people on State help are frauds and free riders is simply based on gross gross ignorance and groundless bitterness of spirit. When the sqawkers about welfare sone day become jobless or disabled and need help, will they sqawk then?
Sadly, elections have consequences. Did the people who voted for this man and are now affected by this decision understand or care what they were in for? It happens too often, people vote against their own interests and cry when they get what they voted for. Democracy in action.
The Affordable Care Act and the movement towards the Federal Government getting evermore involved in the Healthcare System will initially be disruptive. The cost will be more than were initially projected. This fact is being borne out right now. The High Risk Insurance Pools/Pre-Exisiting Condition Plans, which are absolutely necessary, are going to run out of the money that was appropriated through 2014, this year, in 2013 and they will not be accepting anymore applications. Eventually though, because of the recent advances in technology, the increased competition created by the insurance exchanges and the purchasing power of the Federal Government they will eventually be able to bring about uniformity in the pricing of so many aspects of the Healthcare System. A band-aid is going to be billed out at 25 cents not 10 dollars and on and on. Eventually we are going to need some type of National Goods and Services Tax, of say a 5%, dedicated exclusively to funding our Healthcare System, just like every other country in which the Central Government essentially controls the Healthcare System and we are all going to have to pay for it, not just millionaires and billionaires, because the Fedral Government could confiscate all their money and that would not even hardly pay for it. We are all going to rely on Federal Government healthcare programs, like Medicare at some point in our lives. It's going to work, but all the pieces of the puzzle have to be in place. Having said that, I think until you or someone you know has suffered with prolonged pain and health related issues, had money problems and been financially squeezed, as well as financially crushed by a health related issue, you might not completely understand the issue on a personal level. Some people get too hung up on the folks who abuse government programs and forget about all the hardworking decent people who just need some help. That's a matter of individual compassion, that's a matter of trying to keep your heart leaning in the right direction. We all just have to try our best everyday to be aware of this and work at it a bit each day as individuals. If you don't, your heart might turn to stone, and some people have let their hearts turn to stone. It's a sad, miserable place to be for a sentient being in the short amount of time we have here on Earth.
I think it's very hard to argue that Obama's plan increases competition. It creates an environment that is about as far away from an open, fair, and free market as one can get without going to a single payer system. With Obamacare the federal government regulates who can sell insurance, mandates the features of those insurance products, sets the price of those products, and compels customers to purchase those products. Do you really believe that is an environment for innovation and competition?
You need look no further than our own state. When Romney and Beacon Hill enacted a similar plan in 2006 Massachusetts was merely among the leaders in the cost of health care insurance (number five, I believe). Since that time we've vaulted to number one. How long do we wait before we can safely declare this model is one that does not reduce costs?
Advances in medical software technology applications as the relate to having an increased abilty to control pricing and bring about uniformity in pricing occur both inside and outside the healthcare system. These are tools that simply were not as advanced in their applications until recently, whether or not the Federal Government uses these tools properly is a whole other story, I don't know the answer to that question. The free market argument, as it relates to the healthcare sounds good and feels good, but it has clearly failed, that's obvious, the proof is in the pudding. The company I work for has seen a 300% increase in the cost of our employee health care plan over the last 12 years. There has to be some level of uniformity in how pricing of certain medical procedures and products are applied. Of course the overall cost to the state of Massachsusetts increased, (a) they are subsidizing healthcare and (b) they don't currently do adequate means testing, but that's on our elected officials to come to terms with, they certainly can if they want to. Further because of all the world renowned cutting edge teaching hospitals in Boston, people pay top dollar, for the best docotrs and hospitals, they also tend to overuse the services. I always believed that medical malpractice legal reform could also mitigate excessive testing and procedures by doctors who have to have a reasonable fear of getting sued because they didn't do this or that. Medical malpractice reform has sure brought down insurance premiums for Doctors in Texas, it works, but the lawyers groups are going to fight it tooth and nail; it's that money thing. But treating our healthcare system like we are going to get the cheapest price at Walmart through free market competition just doesn't fly and the facts bear that out with the astronomical increases in healthcare costs over the last 15 or so years, the free market failed, accept it.
That's right, about the pre -exiting portion being removed. From th AP:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEALTH_OVERHAUL_PRE_EXISTING_CONDITIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
2/15/13 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Citing financial concerns, the Obama administration has begun quietly winding down one of the earliest programs created by the president's health care overhaul, a plan that helps people with medical problems who can't get private insurance.
In an afternoon teleconference with state counterparts, administration officials said Friday the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan will stop taking new applications. People already in the plan will not lose coverage."
First notice how the AP says that "The White House is quietly winding down" The AP (and the Globe) hope you won't notice this MAJOR reversal from what was promised.
The Globe asks bloggers to "Discuss" the loss of Maine's Medicaid coverage...But lets's see if the Globe EVER asks bloggers to discuss the loss of the Pre existing condition coverage. Which just happens to be a MAJOR CORNERSTONE of how the Affordable Patient Care and protection Act was sold to the public. Perhaps the same bloggers here who are calling for the resignation of Gov. LePage would then be calling for the resignation of the author of the UNAFFORDABLE Patient Care and Protection Act
There is a story on page B4 of today's Globe about a $33 million grant that Governor Lexpecting accepting to "improve transparency and efficiency" in the health care system in Maine. So tome federal money is ok.
Tea Party ignorance, wrapped in lofty terms such as "self reliance", "freedom", "the reward for hard work" etc., is inhumane, immoral and destructive.
All the countries of Western Europe have totally free medical care. As an example, Germany covers its citizens' health from the cradle to the grave and Germans are not "addicted to federal health dollars" and do not have to be "weaned" from decent medical care. Even if we were to grant the insane argument that providing decent health care makes people "dependent" on the system, so what? Our seniors are dependent on Medicare. Our children are dependent on an education.
The US has a health care system is the most expensive in the world and delivers third world results. The GDP of the US, the largest in the world, is five times as large as Germany's. Surely the richest country in the world can afford health care for its citizens.
What wrong with you? Nothing is free!!!! Socialistic medecine is a disaster and it's probably more expensive per person, just look at our neighbor Canada. Waiting lines up to three years or more. People somewhere along the line have to take resonsibility for their health other than genetic disorders. The taxpayer back is broken!!! We can no longer carry the cross! Why should the hard-working person be stuck with carrying the burden for other people? We have enough burdens and resonsibilities of our own. By the way I was on welfare up to the age of about 16, then i went to work at forsaken shoe factory. Stop drinking alcohol , drugs, food etc, etc in excessive. That would certainly help but woudn't neccessarily solve the total problem, but it's a start!!!