Massachusetts Health Care Reform

In July it was noted in the AMA news that Massachusett’s health care costs are spiraling out of control. This is the model started under Mitt Romney’s governorship and what President Obama and Congress followed for the Patient Protection Affordability Care Act.  I have been trying to explain that America can’t afford this. Massachussetts is finding this out in spades. Perhaps next time we try to model something nationally we should wait long enough to measure all the foreseen and unforeseen ramifications before we mandate/force it on the American public.  I said it before and I’ll say it again- we cannot afford this legislation. It will create false costs, supply and demand problems and overall dissatisfaction, not to mention worsening average poverty for the nation as a whole. Our personal costs must increase under this legislation. This means less personal wages and take home pay for the average citizen. 
 
From AMA news July 2012

Healthcare to consume 43% of planned Massachusetts state budget.

The Boston Herald (7/6, Norton) reports, “Between the Medicaid program, subsidized insurance under the 2006 health care access reform law, and investments in state employee health insurance and public health programs, health care spending this fiscal year is on pace to rise to 43 percent of the overall state budget, according to an analysis of the spending bill being reviewed by Gov. Deval Patrick” of Massachusetts. One in five state “residents will have their health care largely covered through the budget and taxpayer-supported health care costs next year,” which “will gobble up the majority of new discretionary state revenue, hitting $15.14 billion, up from $14.65 billion.”

Raymond Kordonowy, MD