SOME MEMBERS OF THE STATE’S HEALTH INSURANCE CONNECTOR BOARD SAY PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO HAVE MANDATORY COVERAGE ARE INCONSISTENT, AND IN SOME CASES TOO LOW. MOST OF THE BOARD AGREES WITH PROPOSED FINES THAT WOULD BE CAPPED AT 912-DOLLARS THIS YEAR. BUT M-I-T ECONOMIST JON GRUBER SAYS THAT’S ONLY ABOUT 20-PERCENT OF WHAT IT WOULD COST AN OLDER PERSON TO BUY INSURANCE.
“The law has a mandate and our job is to implement that mandate and I fear that if these penalties get too low the mandate won’t work.”
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS SAY THIS YEAR’S PENALITIES ARE ALREADY HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR AND ARE REASONABLE.
FOR THE COMPLETE OUTLINE OF PENALTIES FOR 2008, WHICH VARY BASED ON INCOME, CLICK HERE.
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Comments
Dr. Gruber is clearly a sadist.
And arrogant and insensitive and clearly has never had to struggle with staying afloat financially. When he gets older, let him face age discrimination, have him lose his job at 55, then let him flippantly say that his age should penalize him even more and, hey, it’s the law, pay 40% of your income in penalities for not paying some bloated insurance company or bureacracy for a worthless product. So you starve? You freeze? Hey, that’s life
This is morally and ethically wrong and the history books will show how Massachusetts treats it’s citizens who aren’t wealthy.To force us to buy bogus insurance or pay penalties wow what a choice.This is an Elitist State and this proves it.
I am reminded of the cruel antiquated practice of “witch dunking”, where those accused of witchery were proven to either be innocent or possessed by the devil were strapped to a chair and plunged into a pool of “baptismal” water. If they sank and drowned, they were proven innocent. If they floated, they were proven guilty and subsequently burned at the stake. Either outcome resulted in their quick and horrible demise.
If the goal of the mandate is really to provide “access to affordable, quality, accountable healthcare”, this is a cruel way to go about it. Can’t the architects and administrators of this horror-show see this? Are they blinded by the original false assumptions and propaganda or is this simply a mission the must be accomplished at all costs? Does the power and money so overwhelm both humane and fiscal sensibilities that their San Juan Hill mentality prevails?
A few more questions:
- Just how much is the state expecting to collect from the victims of the penalties and estate recovery program that are written into the law?
- Will Mr. Gruber and other ivory tower bureaucrats answer these questions? I doubt it.
WBUR should force all featured contibutors to at least ackowlege the postings of we mere worms.
Dear Huddled – why can’t you use your name?
I have asked for the latest penalty collection expectations, but DOR says it doesn’t any yet. Could be, in part, because estimates of how many residents still don’t have insurance vary. We’ve also heard from a number of people who are uninsured and don’t file taxes. Do you have an estimate of how much the state will collect in penalties this year?
Thanks for reading,
Martha Bebinger