Hawaii Insurance

Massachusetts is the first sign the government, quasi-universal health during the state legislators by an overwhelming majority a law today, Dir Mitt Romney, he said.

The bill did what experts say health, no other state has yet able to do: Provide a mechanism for all its citizens to obtain health insurance. It performs in a sort of fashion, as experts say combines methods and proposals from across the political spectrum, apportioning the costs for companies, individuals and government.

“It is probably about how can we universal,” said Paul Ginsburg, an economist, is president of the independent Centre for Health System Change Studies in Washington. “It will certainly be an inspiration to other states, as was this compromise. They found a way to a great expansion of scope, that the inhabitants of some. For a conservative Republican, which is the responsibility of the individual. For a Democrat, this government is that they need help. ”

The bill, which led, after months of Gerangel between the legislature and the governor of Massachusetts requires all residents to obtain health coverage by July 1, 2007.

Individuals can afford private insurance is punishable taxes on government revenue, if they do not buy. Grants government plans on private insurance is more of “working poor”, you provide insurance and the number of children are free insurance. And companies with more than 10 employees, who have no insurance, a fee of up to $ 295 per employee per year.

All told, the coverage plan 515000 people had no expected within three years, more than 95 per cent of the population had no State, the legislator said.

“It is not typical Massachusetts Taxachusetts, oh the crazy liberal plan,” said Stuart H. Altman, Heller, dean of the Graduate School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. “It is not true as ever. It is quite a moderate approach and that is impressive, it was about. He tried to borrow and blend a quantity of various documents.

Many countries, including Massachusetts, have been set for the year of introduction, as to cover the uninsured, and several countries have close, after the National Conference of State Legislature. A universal access to Hawaii in 1974, the law employers to provide health care for employees working 20 hours or more per week, but 3% of the population to remain emerged. Tests on all citizens in Minnesota and Vermont in 1992 and in Massachusetts in 1988, fell flat a few years later, in mid-1990’s, the language of the bills concerning universal coverage was repealed.

In 2003, a law of Maine, which significantly extends the protection and insurance combined with employers government payments. That year, California adopted a law that requires employers’ contributions, but it was repealed in a referendum in 2004.

The Massachusetts bill was approved today hammered from proposals and contributions from Democratic legislators, Mr. Romney, a Republican, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Democrat, insurance, scientists, businesses, hospitals and advocate for the poor, including religious leaders.

They were motivated in part by a threat by the federal government to eliminate $ 385 million in the budget federal Medicaid money unless the state reduced the number of people is not ensured. The State should be the bill completed last January, but state officials said they were confident that the government would approve the bill approved today.

“It’s a balance accounting,” said Senator Robert E. Travaglini State, heads of the majority. “When you can always the medical community, economy and supporters of all applauding our efforts, I think that is an indicator of the success of the exercise. This is a model for the rest of the nation.”

Governor Romney is considering running for president in 2008, said in an interview today that the bill by a legislature that is 85 percent Democratic, was “95 per cent of what I propose.”

He said: “It’s really an important milestone for our country, because it is in this phase that we can obtain health insurance for all our citizens without raising taxes and without care for a government. The old single payer canard is gone. ”

In particular, Mr. Romney has invited the idea of “individual conscience mandate,” people can afford health insurance, purchase, the same way, as pilots are required for auto insurance. The bill allows, for employers, that many people to use pretax dollars, saving 25 percent or more.