I cannot understand what the Health care law and the DOR have in common? I want to know how a citizen proves their religion? Do I send proof of worship to DOR? who decides what faith is exempt? The fact is this is none of your business. There is a First Ammendement in the United States of America!What happen to Right to Privacy? Are we still in The United States of America?????

Hi Norma – Martha Bebinger here with a few answers to your questions. The health care law assigns different tasks to four or five state agencies. DOR has the enforcement job via tax returns.

On the religious exemption…take a look at the forms posted in July. If you claim you don’t believe in using health care covered by insurance, you just check a box on your tax form. But, if you use health care at some point, the state will, in theory, retract the exemption.

I agree with you that this will likely be a controversial part of the law as people begin to claim the religious exemption.

Ms. Bebinger,
So the State will track me? How will they do this? Put my name into a computer at all Massachusett Hospitals? So the hospitals will be hooked up to DOR? I am very confused, aren’t my medical records PRIVATE information?

Dear Norma,

Yes, we silly people thought that our lives were private.

The fact is that providers are mandated to screen and report all care. There are stiff penalties for failure to cooperate.

This is done through a massive data system.

Although the Connector Board is in charge of the mandate’s administration, there are dozens of other state agencies who are involved and who have access to citizens’ information.

Some of these agencies are:
Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authorit (Connector Board)
State Division of Unemployment Assistance
State Division of Health Care Finance and Policy
State Division of Insurance
State Department of Revenue
MassHealth
State Office of Medicaid
State Dept. of Public Health
State Division of Unemployment Assistance
State Dept. of Health and Human Services
Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Vital Statistics
Department of Veteran’s Services
Internal Revenue Service
Social Security Administration
Department of Transitional Assistance
Health insurance carriers.
-The Federal Government will also have access to this data-

*These reports are to be submitted via the internet, which seems hardly a secure vehicle for such a vast pool of personal information.

A few comments:

The religious exemption addresses folks like Christian Scientists, whose religious beliefs are inconsistent with both health insurance and health care. The state probably can do little to check on anyone’s beliefs and cannot track this.

In response to Ms. Vance’s comment–no such massive data system exists. For example the Connector does not have routine access to medical records without a patient’s permission.

If you don’t like the mandate, don’t buy insurance. End of story. You won’t go to jail. You will pay a modest additional tax that is much less than the premium for insurance. This tax will offset, in part, the burden the rest of us will bear to contribute to the safety net to subsidize your care. Sounds fair to me.

Hi Norma – Martha again. DOR will keep track of whether you do or do not have health insurance, based on your annual tax return. DOR will not, as I understand the process, have access to your medical records. There is a federal law that says your medical records must be kept private unless you authorize the release.

Yes, it is confusing.

Thanks, Martha. It doesn’t sound like they’re going to make it easy.

“2. Second, in the alternative, you may file a Certificate of Exemption Application before December 1, 2007. [Certificate of Exemption Applications filed after December 1, 2007 will be dismissed.] If you are granted a Certificate, you will not lose your personal exemption when you file your 2007 Massachusetts income taxes. In filing a Certificate of Exemption Application, you must state the grounds, as well as provide significant documentation, to substantiate your claim of lack of affordability due to hardship, and show that you attempted to purchase insurance through the Connector. The Connector will review your claim and documentation. Your claim and documentation will be filed under the pains and penalties of perjury and are subject to audit upon filing of the 2007 tax return. In other words, the Connector may revoke a Certificate if it determines at a later date that any of the information contained in the Certificate of Exemption Application is inaccurate.

Depending on the Hardship, documentation may include pay stubs, past tax returns, bank statements, medical bills, death certificates, legal papers and more. Please read the Application carefully to determine if you meet and can prove any of the hardship qualifications before filing the Application. If you file an Application without any proof to verify your claim, your Application may be denied.”

http://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.3ef8fb03b7fa1ae4a7ca7738e6468a0c/?javax.portlet.tpst=2fdfb140904d489c8781176033468a0c_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_2fdfb140904d489c8781176033468a0c_viewID=content&javax.portlet.prp_2fdfb140904d489c8781176033468a0c_docName=Certificate%20of%20Exemption&javax.portlet.prp_2fdfb140904d489c8781176033468a0c_folderPath=/FindInsurance/Individual/Affordability%20Calculator/&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken

Dave,
OMG!!!!

In reply to David S and others who might also think this way. You’re missing the point. Re your comment:

“If you don’t like the mandate, don’t buy insurance. End of story. You won’t go to jail. You will pay a modest additional tax that is much less than the premium for insurance. This tax will offset, in part, the burden the rest of us will bear to contribute to the safety net to subsidize your care. Sounds fair to me.

You and many others miss the point entirely; the health reform discussion should absolutely NOT be about “How to file for an Exemption to the Individual Mandate”!!! Everyone in a civilized wealthy society such as ours should have comprehensive healthcare that is funded and provided in an equitable cost-effective manner. Social insurance such as improved Medicare For All (on the state or federal level) would provide this. The current MA law pushing a legal mandate to purchase an expensive private insurance product of questionable value most certainly does not achieve these sensible and civilized health reform goals.

Maybe you should ponder the following questions and then go seeking some answers: Why on earth do we continue to allow 30%-40% of every healthcare dollar to be squandered on non-clinical uses? (the state’s official figure was 39% according to the state’s LECG study in 2002). Why is this? Shame on us and shame on our elected leaders who know this fact but do not have what it takes to address it. (hint: addressing it requires challenging the wealthy and powerful insurance and drug industries).

More and more people across the state and the nation are speaking up –and are taking action — to say “NO” to this wasteful and punitive mandate plan while also saying “YES” to creating a system of affordable guaranteed healthcare for all.

This is a grassroots political movement that is growing into a groundswell public demand for real reform. The public is increasingly demanding reform that creates guaranteed healthcare that’s equitably financed — not fake reform that creates a legal mandate to buy a stripped down private insurance product and perpetuates our wasteful and dysfunctional non-system.

The Emperor has no clothes here, folks. The public is getting mighty angry and will not settle for this. We will not accept less than real reform that places the needs of regular people and our communities before the powerful interests driven by individual greed and corporate profit.

Lastly, the MA residents who are rejecting the mandate plan (and still need and deserve good health insurance) are most likely already paying taxes to the state and should be covered already — if only we had a sensible guaranteed universal coverage plan!

The Big Lie: I am fed up with the lies, Affordable, that is the first word on the chapter 58 law, webster’s afford;to have the financial means for.Universal;entire or all within the World.

“# David S posted:
Comment posted October 8th, 2007 at 6:54 pm

If you don’t like the mandate, don’t buy insurance. End of story. You won’t go to jail. You will pay a modest additional tax that is much less than the premium for insurance. This tax will offset, in part, the burden the rest of us will bear to contribute to the safety net to subsidize your care. Sounds fair to me.”

You don’t sound like you were a good math student.

Do you think Norma’s and Ron Norton’s monthly payment for a useless policy will help offset costs for of all us more than than the billions being given to the insurance companies?