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Originally Posted by Riot
So please, explain how MA's being in arrears of it's states' matching Medicare payments to it's own facilities has anything at all to do with the federal government?
Or how the MA program, which differs completely from the federal healthcare reform act, is pertinent to the discussion?
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The MA program has been used by the WH as an example of mandated insurance. (That would be considered a connection)
Massachusetts' example
White House budget director Peter Orszag says penalty size isn't the only factor in determining whether people buy coverage. He predicts the mandate will help create societal expectations that everyone gets health insurance, just as most people feel obligated to buckle their seat belts.
He points to Massachusetts, which in 2007 became the first state to require that most residents have insurance. Since then, the percentage of uninsured has declined to 4% from about 7%.
The Massachusetts penalty for failing to buy insurance this year is $1,068 — about half the cost of the lowest annual premium. About 96% of tax filers in the state in 2008 reported they had coverage; only 1% paid a penalty
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...nsurance_N.htm