Would like the story on healthcare in MA

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by lookinforhorseparadise

Thanks, I can understand the bitterness you may feel about your hard earned tax dollars going to pay for health care for someone else....Believe me, I would much rather be able to work and pay to help someone else than to be disabled and in need of charity. I worked hard my whole life and had a great job. I paid a lot of taxes. Through no fault of my own I became disabled. I have lost the ability to work or drive a car. I had to sell my beloved horse and move out of the town I called home for many years. Every day I live with chronic pain and illness. So please think about this before you judge. I never expected to be disabled at age 42. It can happen to anyone.

You are exactly the person our social services should be helping. Realistically you should be getting disability from SS too.

[2NorthernRednecks]

I am on Disability SSI and have been for 10years from Lupis and Lymes Disease, I'm 52 now and was making 40k+ before this illness changed my whole life.Apply for disability, go to any Community Assistance agency..listed in phone books make appointment and they will help you get whatever assistance you need.
The state health care has been fine for me. I also have Medicare.I live in The Andover area ,above Boston and there are plenty of Dr.s available with no waiting to be seen.Transportation is also available for those who qualify for assistance. There are plenty of state funded agenies that will offer assistance. Don't think of yourself as any less a person,because you can no longer work. But don't take pity either. Your attitude about all this will effect your health even more..I know!! Life puts us rocks in our paths...roll them in a circle and plant some flowers in the middle.

[miu]

Blue Cross Blue Shield in MA lost $149 million last year and their CEO just resigned.

Mass. Blue Cross CEO steps down - Boston.com (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/16/mass_blue_cross_ceo_steps_down/ - broken link)

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

I don't doubt it -- name a system and there will be someone who tries to work it.

But somehow lots of people overlook the most costly forms of abuse like defense industry corporations rigging the contracting system, businesses abusing tax breaks, banks that game the student loan system, and medicare fraud. These things in aggregate cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars -- if not hundreds of billions of dollars -- per year. However, the fact that this stuff happens doesn't lead some people to call for elimination of defense spending, the ending of business tax breaks, or the abolition of student loans or medicare.

But when it comes to the welfare cheat...well, that's a different story. It is then that people get up in arms about $100. cell phones and food stamps for $20. lobster. You see, it's easier for people to understand smaller dollar amounts than big ones.

After all, its a slam dunk to pick on "those" poor folks. They're politically weak and stigmatized. Sure, they take some of the toughest and least glamorous jobs out there. And, yes, they and their children disproportionally volunteer to defend the country by serving in the armed services. But because "they" are poor they must by definition be losers, right? I mean, really, who's easier to kick when they're down than a loser?

But those crooked defense industry executives and engineers, the bankers and executives, the dishonest doctors...they go to work everyday and dress well. They live in "our" nice neighborhoods and send their kids to "our" schools. They steal far, far more than the welfare cheats, but they do it respectably, quietly, and very systematically. So we don't get as mad about their cheating as we do about the welfare cheats. Because, you see, they are one of "us"... and not "them."

Still doesn't make either one right, though, does it?

[FutureSoxFan?]

Originally Posted by Browsing Duo

Just to comment on this old post about not being able to get care in a timely wa. My husband and I didn't "rush" to MA for free or cheap health care but because we love the area, have family nearby, AND because there was mandatory universal health insurance. (My former health insurer in New York State dropped us when our group plan ended. We're incredibly healthy--knock wood--but in our early sixties, ergo undesirable to insurance companies. We could not find individual plans we could afford.)

So here we are in Western MA, upstanding, tax paying residents. We were able to get health insurance, not free, not cheap, but affordable for us. We had absolutely no problem finding doctors and both got physicals within six weeks of arriving in MA--same amount of time it took us to get appointments for physicals in New York State. Our friends and neighbors here tell us they get to see doctors right away when they're sick.

Maybe the problems this poster mentioned about unavailable doctors occurred early on when MA first went to universal health insurance and people flocked to doctors all at once. That may have been a one-time blip. In any case, we are currently very satisfied with our health coverage and timely care.
That's been our experience.

You are lucky. I stand by what I said in my last post. Here is the evidence to support it. And remember, on average, the Boston area is better than western MA . . .

Wait times to see doctor are getting longer - USATODAY.com

http://www.merritthawkins.com/pdf/mh...timesurvey.pdf

When I moved here, it took me 7 MONTHS to get an appointment for an initial visit with a primary care doctor.

[mdovell]

The health care has some complications that unfortunately are forcing people to do things they don't want to do.

1) there are people that are healthy that generally might not feel that they need insurance. Charging them takes money away from them. Some would argue that any insurance plan has to have the healthy people outnumber those that aren't for economic purposes. No insurance company would insure just those with less than perfect help..they need a balance

2) The state insurance is not accepted in the colleges of mass. Why is this an issue? Well if someone goes from full time to part time they cannot buy the school insurance...and if the mass health isn't acceptable that means they have to find work..

3) The subsidized pool plan in mass has grown significantly. I've heard supposedly the plan itself will be gutted in a few years because it is unsustainable.

Health care unfortunately can't be cheap. It would be nice if it could be but in reality the only way to make it cheaper is to have more doctors and nurses around.

btw mass does allow for drug store clinics to operate. This can somewhat help if you don't want to wait to see a doctor and are willing to pay more