The Hub of Politics

Another day, another stupid idea brought to us by the Democrats who control 6-of-7 seats in the Massachusetts General Court (legislature, to those of you not from the Commonwealth).

Massachusetts residents who can afford health insurance but refuse to pay for it would face increasing tax penalties under a sweeping health care reform package designed to dramatically expand coverage to the more than 500,000 uninsured residents in the state.

Oh swell, you say. And just who is going to decide whether or not you can "afford" health insurance, you might ask? Why, the same people who decide what is "affordable housing", of course!

Backers hope the bill, set to be voted on by the House and Senate Tuesday, will establish a national model for other states grappling with how to provide insurance to more of their citizens.

Yes, please - let us all hope we are able to expand this idiocy beyond the borders of the Commonwealth, you say. That way ours will not be the only state economy to collapse under the burden of this monstrous proposal. I mean, socialized medicine is working so well in other countries - why not import it here?

It also must withstand the scrutiny of Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican who has expressed concern about a key funding element in the legislation. Romney voiced support for the bill Monday.

I must admit that when I read that last sentence it scared me - greatly.

(House Speaker Salvatore) DiMasi called the bill "historic."

Well this, this and that were also "historic". Anyone want a repeat of those? Just because something is "historic" doesn't make it "good", Mr. Speakah.

"We will be able to, in three years, hopefully, virtually insure every man, woman and child in this commonwealth of Massachusetts," DiMasi said. "We have the most comprehensive package that, I think, will be the model for the rest of the country."

I hear that a bill declaring Apple Pie and Motherhood to be "All-American" will be introduced this week as well.

But get to the point, you're saying. Who is going to pay for this little slice of Utopia?

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

A key portion of the bill requires businesses that don't offer insurance to pay a $295 dollar per-worker assessment. The assessment was an early sticking point between the two versions of the bill.

Ding! Oh, there it is! You just knew there had to be a new employer payroll mandate in there somewhere, didn't you? I mean, it's not as if the Commonwealth is hemorrhaging jobs or anything, or that people are fleeing the state as fast as they can - what's the harm in yet another mandate making employment in the People's Republic a little more expensive, eh?

Much like the purchase of car insurance, the proposal would make the purchase of health insurance by those "who could afford" it mandatory - either through an employer or directly. Something called the "Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Program" would be set-up to help individuals purchase insurance on their own, with premiums and deductibles set on a sliding scale based upon income. There are clear incentives to purchasing insurance, and more than a few sticks should one chose not to.

So it's a total disaster. Right?

Certain to destroy the last bastion of ostensibly free-market medicine in the world. Right?

Well, I say that we should not be too hasty on that score.

Free-marketeers and libertarians are certainly going to bristle at the fundamental crux of this proposal, as they did Romney's original submission. But many of the aspects of this legislation can be found in proposals forwarded by people no one would confuse with left-wingers. And frankly, I think we conservatives dismiss out-of-hand proposals such as this at our great peril.

In reality, this is no more "socialized medicine" than mandatory car insurance is "socialized driving". A foot in the door? Perhaps. But that door is not really opened any further by this proposal.

Snark aside, there is a fair amount of good in this legislation - and a great deal that borrows against Governor Romney's vastly superior proposal. That could be why the Man who would be President seems to be pretty happy about this latest development:

Romney praised the legislation saying it will guarantee every Massachusetts resident will have health insurance using reforms to the marketplace rather than a big new government program.

"We are on track to do something historic, truly landmark, a once in a generation opportunity," said Romney, a possible candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

Just don't call it a "tax":

"It makes sense to expand this assessment to beyond those that just currently offer insurance," said Romney. "It's not a tax. It's not a broad-based program."

Well, if you say so Governor.

In all candor, of all the ideas in this roughly 150-page bill (and we all know there are likely more than a few Devils in those details) the only truly nutty one is the business assessment - which is almost certain to cost our struggling economy jobs in the aggregate. And while I am not really thrilled at the prospect of an individual mandate for health insurance, the fact of the matter is that I, you and everyone else who has insurance is already paying for the care of those who don't. So I feel that if my insurance premiums are going to help subsidize the costs for care of people who have the means to provide for their own healthcare but chose not to, then I say "Bring it on!" with regard to the individual mandate.

I just wonder what's going to happen when an uninsured person shows up in an ER after the July 1, 2007 cut-off date. My prediction - same as it ever was.

And while the idea of yet another employer mandate - the net result of which would be to drive the cost of doing business up at a time when so doing can only exacerbate our current problems - is indeed nutty, the fact is that it is far better than the broad-based payroll tax originally floated by the legislature.

All in all, this is probably not a bad bill - in fact, it's probably a pretty good one.

I just wish the legislature could have left their never-ending desire to jack-up the cost of doing business here at the door when they wrote it. But on balance, it's really not such a stupid idea after all.