Congress: don’t approve ANY bill that is modeled after FAILED Massachusetts Plan!  Per Georgetown University Health Policy Institute article and other sources, several of the healthcare proposals in Congress are based on the Massachusetts health care plan which is failing.  From The Boston Globe article 3/2/09: “Congress should not make it a model for the nation because

  • it has not achieved universal healthcare, although the reform has been a boon to the private insurance industry….
  • the reform does not address the problem of insurance being connected to jobs…
  • the program is not affordable for many individuals and families—for middle-income people not qualifying for state-subsidized health insurance, costs are too high for even skimpy coverage….the costs of the reform for the state have been formidable…
  • the reform does not assure access to care—-high-deductible plans that have additional out-of-pocket expenses can result in many people not using their insurance when they are sick.” 

And then there’s fraud: “Partners HealthCare hospitals in Boston were able to negotiate a secret agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to be paid 30 percent more for their services than other providers in the state”. 

The article goes on to say that “We need to improve Medicare, and expand this program to include everyone” but unfortunately this is NOT what HR3200 or the other proposal do!