Massachusetts health care: A glimpse of things to come – Audio

Jeff Jacoby (podcast below)  has a powerful column in the Globe this morning outlining the failures of universal care in the Commonwealth, and why we can expect more of the same if we let the Federal Government do it on a national scale.

Jeff Jacoby ThumbFirst Jeff points out … whatever you call it … a mandate to buy health insurance is a tax … and no it will not help reduce the cost of health care.

But isn’t the penalty that law imposes on the uninsured – a penalty that this year will run as high as $1,068 per person – a tax? Gosh, no, enthused Romney: “It’s a personal responsibility principle.’’

It might be sellable if the Mass experience has led to lower premiums and lower costs … but it hasn’t.

Far from holding insurance costs down, “reform’’ in Massachusetts seems to have had the opposite effect. “Insurance premiums rose by 7.4 percent in 2007, 8-12 percent in 2008, and are expected to rise 9 percent this year,’’ notes Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute. “By comparison, nationwide insurance costs rose by 6.1 percent in 2007, just 4.7 percent in 2008, and are projected to increase 6.4 percent this year.’’

Jeff drove all of those points home with us this morning.

[audio:https://radioviceonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/20090923-jeff-jacoby.mp3]

Read it all … or just listen to today’s interview. Jeff is an amazing guest.

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Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

3 Comments

  1. Dimsdale on September 24, 2009 at 6:33 am

    Democrats will lamely call the results of government controlled health care in Massachusetts "anecdotal" and find a way to blame Romney.



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