Massachusetts is an affluent state. Most people already had health insurance and Romneycare proved less disruptive to existing arrangements than Obamacare already promises to be. The health care reform was bipartisan, bringing together Mitt Romney and Scott Brown with Ted Kennedy and the Beacon Hill Democratic bosses. Both Republicans and Democrats have a stake in the law. Some costs could be offloaded to the federal government.
None of those circumstances are true nationally.
Massachusetts works to address the nation's highest health insurance premiums
Robert Skenderian, a pharmacist and owner of Skenderian Apothecary in Cambridge, is feeling the pinch of high health insurance premiums.
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He has a family plan with a $6,000 deductible and maintains a health savings account, but Skenderian says he's still facing premiums that have been rising between 8 percent and 15 percent a year.
“You pay a lot more and get a lot less,” he said.
As a small businessman who provides health benefits for a dozen employees, Skenderian said health-care benefits account for a quarter of the cost of hiring a new person. “When I hire, I have to think not just salary but health-care costs,” he said.
Skenderian’s experience is not unusual.
A study released by the Commonwealth Fund in December reported Massachusetts has the highest health-insurance premiums in the nation for private, employer-sponsored plans.
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The high cost of care affects many families and businesses, though. Carol Campbell, president and chief executive officer of Chicopee Industrial Contractors, feels a responsibility to offer health benefits and wants to attract and retain good employees. The company pays 60 percent of employees’ premiums – making health insurance the largest expense after payroll, according to Campbell.
Campbell said health insurance is a fixed cost, which businesses cannot negotiate with providers, and costs can increase between 5 percent and 30 percent a year. The company has had to raise deductibles to keep premium increases down, she said.
“I do fear what it will be like in 10 years,” Campbell said. “I don’t see anything that makes me feel comfortable that Massachusetts or the federal government is going to be able to control these costs.”
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/massachusetts_is_working_to_ad.html
Emergency room visits grow in Mass.
New insurance law did not reduce number of users
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...010/07/04/emergency_room_visits_grow_in_mass/
Massachusetts Insurance Mandate Is Causing Longer Wait Times and Physician Shortage
http://news.heartland.org/newspaper...ndate-causing-longer-wait-times-and-physician
New patients wait average 205 days to get doctor's appointment in Franklin County, topping Massachusetts survey
http://www.masslive.com/business-ne...franklin_county_tops_physician_wait_time.html
All of this was happening when Obama opted for Mitt Romney's plan instead of better plans.
