Gather round ye young and old, and I’ll tell you a grand tale
It’s been at least a score since the story began, but it never does get stale
I can see you all are tired, and I know it’s getting late
So, let me skip the boring stuff and go straight to ‘ole Chapter 58
‘Tis true it’s a little scary, hold your children fast and near
But if you listen ‘til the story’s end, I promise you won’t feel fear
There’s a little bit for everyone, young and old alike
Yes, there’s even something here for your little tyke
Folks were working hard to find a way to cover all
But making everyone happy proved a task forever tall
There were business folks ’round a table, and hot debate on the hill:
Who’s in, for how much, and when — and wait, who will balance the till?
They heard the tales of hardship from the faith group and Health Care for All
Who do so much for so many, and for help we can always call
In the end a leader was chosen, we call him good King Jon
His Connector board is da bomb with a dynamite theme song
Senator Travaligni and Speaker DiMasi had one big to-do
But their wives patched it over with some beef and cheese fondue
We all held hands together as we plunged to the great beyond
Not knowing how it’d turn out, some praying in verse and in song
In the end there was a signing, some jumped up and down for joy
For the law was passed, a new era born, and the people they called out, “Oh boy!”
Commonwealth Care, Commonwealth Choice — these words can be confusing
But if you use your Roadmap to Coverage, you’ll never find it bemusing
They say we’ve all got to do our part and have some skin in the game
But not everyone’s got it to give, and let’s face it — the expression’s kinda lame
For the youngest among us, don’t fear or fret, the grown-ups thought of you:
We pushed the income limit to make room for more bambinos too!
I wish we could keep the moms there, too, but instead we’re forced to mutter
Medicaid’s great when you have it, but it churns you out like butter
As we move forward, let’s remember our values, for it’s the people it’s all about
It took 18 years to get us here, though our shared future some might still doubt
Leading to our success has been a commitment to consensus
For this we thank the Connector board, which has never broken in the trenches
Going forward the big question is, can we afford it year after year?
I hope you have the special sauce ‘cause my costs are running in high gear.
Quality is bound to get better with coverage that’s robust and true
With bells, whistles, and pharmacy — I deserve it, and the Connector says so do you
There’s lots of pools — the small, the non, and the one to cover the gaps
Two’ve been merged, the other’s being purged; I sure hope this bird can flap
Yes, yes, it’s true, there remain open questions that badly need address
Like will there be enough docs who will work for a shilling or less?
For the common good it’s well understood that coverage is quite divine
That will be the spirit and intent for writing Chapter 59
Christina Severin is executive director of Network Health, a health plan with more than 110,000 low- and moderate-income members with state-subsidized health insurance across Massachusetts.
Christina,
This mandated health insurance is NOT affordable for the majority of people it targets and, furthermore, those who MAY be able to scrape up the premium costs at the risk of not being able to afford heat, gas, food, rents, mortgages, property taxes, etc. as prices in those areas continue to soar while incomes remain stagnate, may also find themselves unable to come up with the copays and non-covered items such as a yearly eye exam, dental, etc.
In fact, I read in a Globe op-ed column in April 2007 that the current affordability standards take only premiums into account. The column further stated that the Connector would need to monitor if the out-of-pocket costs still make care unattainable and if they get care, are they forced into debt because of the costs?
By those statements, it is clear that the mandated insurance plays with people’s lives and MA has no business fining those who do not earn enough to pay for this “experiment” despite what the math wizard at the Connector decided is affordable.
Penalizing people who do not earn enough to purchase this or any other health insurance shows disrepect for many hard-working residents of MA and is subjugation.
You say quality is bound to get better with coverage that is robust and true . . . you’re dreaming. First of all, the coverage under Commonwealth Care and Choice is not robust. Secondly, the insurance companies will continue to raise the cost of premiums while lowering the benefits for all in the entire USA as usual.
This mandate is a gift to insurance/medical/big pharma by Mitt Romney et al and is being touted as landmark by the legislators and others who have been bought and paid for or who don’t dare go against the flow on Beacon Hill although they might want to.
Follow the money and keep an eye on the revolving door – i.e. Mr Travaligni, one of the authors of this law, recently gave up his $90,000 annual salary for a $300,000 a year job with the lobbying firm for the hospitals in MA. $7.5 million was spent on lobbying by the insurance/medical folks to safeguard their special interests (i.e. profits) and the bureaucracy is a staggering $4 million so far. King Jon’s $225,000 annual salary per a newsbrief on NPR last year may or may not be included in this figure along with the other high-salaried folks at the Connector. And I’m sure there’s more that I haven’t listed.
All this mandated health insurance does is continue to feed the insatiable beast that stands in the way of affordable, quality HEALTHCARE to all residents of this state (and nation.)
I’m happy for the $15,000 and under people and anyone else who can afford this insurance. But, alas, the rest of us don’t all fit into the math wizard’s slots and cannot afford the penalties either. We are already paying for the zero premium people through our taxes so whatever further amounts taken from us in the form of penalties is thievery and when this reform fails, bruising many along the way, we will demand our penalties back with interest. I hope there is a special fund in the Connector Trust Fund to cover this.
Welcome to Massachusetts, the state that makes your choices for you, manages those choices and fines you if you can’t afford to comply.