"I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir ... the Jungian thing, sir." Private Joker, Full Metal Jacket
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Mass oversells itself
The New York Times is reporting that Massachusetts has enacted a bill providing for universal health coverage, but I wonder. The bill supposedly provides tax penalties for those who "could afford" health insurance but do not buy it. I am skeptical that the penalties could be harsh enough to force those who do not want to insure to do so. The bill penalizes employers of more than ten $295 per employee if they do not provide insurance. Gee, that's like almost 3% of what it costs to provide family insurance that most people would recognize as such. Unless there is a huge subsidy happening here, I'm thinking that this is a huge nonstory.
There IS a huge subsidy in RomneyCare (the RepublicRAT version of HillaryCare) - there's a "sliding-scale" subsidy for those making up to 300% of the federal poverty level, with those at the bottom getting "free" health care and those at the "top" paying no more than $200-$250 per month.
ReplyDeleteI hope this sinks his 2008 Presidential aspirations.