Pay Attention to Massachusetts

All we have to do is look at the state of Massachusetts and the current insurance industry crisis there to find what will soon be coming to the rest of the United States. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick decided to impose restrictions on insurance premiums last week to curb costs. Because this resulted in the inability of the major insurance companies to raise premiums appropriately, many of the companies in the state (who are all nonprofit) decided to stop issuing new policies. In response to this, state officials have ordered the insurance companies to continue to offer quotes to the public. We should look at this simply for what it is. This is the government encroaching into the private industry to dictate how private companies conduct their business.

This is a gross over extension of government power into the private sector. Unfortunately, the model of Massachusetts universal care is very similar to the plan that will soon be imposed on many American

citizens by the recent health care bill. The Massachusetts model has also grossly underestimated their plan in terms of cost. There are several estimations that the cost of universal coverage in Massachusetts is 3 times greater than what was originally estimated. Despite the success of covering 98% of people in the state, the costs are something that have been and will be restrictive for the state moving forward. The not for profit insurance organizations are feeling the effects of this bill and are even discussing solvency in response to the inability to increase their premiums. This is what soon will be the model if President Obama and the Democrats in Congress have their way. We need to see that this coarse intrusion of government into private industry is something that we simply cannot stand for in this country and will not accept. The fact that this is happening in Massachusetts is proof that it will happen nationwide if this health care bill is allowed to proceed.

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