A healthy citizenry is no doubt one of the highest priorities for any government, and Massachusetts has decided that mandatory health insurance for every person is the best way to achieve such a goal. The program, newly signed into law, is based on the same assumption that requires all drivers to purchase auto insurance: Individuals should be required to take pre-emptive measures, to ensure that the government and taxpayers will not be forced to pick up the slack once an accident or health care problem occurs.
Although the new Massachusetts law is not universal healthcare (a system wherein the government finances and regulates health services and insurance for all its citizens), it may be the best amalgamation of the socialist value of governmental protection for all and the capitalist value of individual responsibility. With the Massachusetts plan, all citizens are required to purchase health insurance. The government will help subsidize those with low incomes. State officials also plan to work with private insurance companies in order to create low-cost plans for young adults or other citizens seeking only the most-basic insurance coverage. About 500,000 citizens are without health insurance in Massachusetts, and the hope is that each of those residents will have insurance by July 2007 under this new policy.
We applaud the state of Massachusetts for its bold, original thinking when tackling the ever-important issue of healthcare. Especially intriguing about this mandatory insurance plan is the fact that it has received so much bipartisan support; the legislation passed with a 154-2 vote in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and a complete majority in the Senate. In a country where liberals and conservatives seem to find little consensus over important national issues (immigration, wartime politics), it is reassuring to see an instance where both sides have worked together to find a reasonable, non-partisan solution to a pressing problem.
Further, requiring every citizen to own health insurance just makes sense. If lower-income citizens are forced to buy into a health insurance plan, they will be more likely to exercise early health-care measures such as scheduling regular visits to the doctor. Currently, many people avoid paying for all but the most pressing medical emergencies, at which point hospitals’ emergency rooms become crowded with patients and hospitals are forced to foot the bill for charity services. Sacred Heart Medical Center, for example, spent more than $16 million in charity care in 2003 (“Oregon Health Plan’s lowered enrollment helps save millions,” ODE April 14, 2004).
If the Massachusetts health insurance plan works as well as its supporters hope, the rest of the nation may follow suit. As long as low-income citizens receive the financial assistance necessary to purchase the mandated insurance and the government saves money by subsidizing insurance instead of emergency health care, the policy signed into law by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney should certainly be used as a model for states across the nation.
Mandatory insurance for health makes sense
Daily Emerald
April 16, 2006
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