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Yes, I much prefer using tax dollars to pay for emergency care for people without health insurance when preventative non-emergency care would have been far cheaper, but can be refused to people without a means of paying. Yes, very smart. Very economical.

People who choose to not have health insurance are freeloaders, pure and simple. They depend on the public to provide their catastrophic coverage if they get cancer or get hit by a bus. The system simply fails when the healthy opt out or the insurers can cherry pick, the whole idea of insurance is to spread the risk. The ultimate other extreme from a flat universal premium is genome and lifestyle stratifying of the pool till big brother is watching what we do for recreation and what put in our mouths or other orifices. How is that better?

jerseymom, I also have a small business and I find the argument false. If everyone is required then the playing field is flat, you can't be underbid by someone who doesn't provide coverage. If you're competing internationally you're already screwed.

My roommate is from Mass and he pays $80 bucks a month and makes twice as me (well, what I used to make).

I am on unemployment and my COBRA coverage is a whooping $178!

The way it works in Mass is if you make below $35,000, you pay zip, and and then a tiered system is applied. All you have to do is apply, so a person like me would be covered and wouldn't have to go through welfare runaround.

This is especially helpful for young professionals and entry level people, not just those lazy welfare sucker you think this is designed to benefit.

Should a person who supports even one another on $35,000, and pays 1/3 in taxes, really have to decide whether to go on welfare to make ends meet?

I hate this law as well - most especially as a small business owner. They are already following mandatory insurance regulations in Massachusetts;

Mandatory Health Insurance
What is the Individual Mandate?

The individual mandate is a requirement that all Massachusetts residents over the age of 18, for whom available health insurance is affordable, obtain and maintain health insurance that meets minimum coverage requirements beginning July 1, 2007.

Individuals who cannot show proof of health insurance coverage by Dec. 31, 2007, will lose their personal income tax exemption when filing their 2007 income taxes. The 2006 personal exemption is $3,850 for an individual, which translates into a tax savings of approximately $204 for an individual (5.3 percent of $3,850).

Failure to meet the requirement in 2008 will result in a fine for each month the individual does not have coverage. The fine will equal 50 percent of the least costly, available insurance premium that meets the standard for creditable coverage.

"All citizens forced to purchase health insurance by 2014"

I hope this will be ruled unconstitutional, but I am not holding my breath.

My second hope is that this will be repealed.

My third hope is resistance by any means necessary.

Health law fazes hospital head too

Monday, March 07, 2011
By TERRENCE T. McDONALD
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Like most everybody else, officials at Christ Hospital in Jersey City are also scratching their heads trying to figure out all the facets and implications of the new healthcare law, according to the hospital's president.

The "fairly healthy amount of tug and pull" between Democrats and Republicans on the law doesn't help clear up its fuzziness, Christ Hospital President and CEO Peter Kelly said Wednesday night at the hospital's annual public meeting.

"Anything that provides more coverage to people who don't have coverage is a good thing. The issue is, where is the money coming from?" Kelly added.

Among other requirements, the law, which is being implemented bit by bit for the next three years, will force all citizens to purchase health insurance by 2014 and it eliminates co-payments for some preventative services.

Roughly 26 percent of Hudson County's adults are uninsured, which is more than 10 percent higher than statewide, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

With skyrocketing healthcare costs, those uninsured are relying more and more on Christ Hospital's emergency room for primary medical care, Kelly said. Even with mandated health insurance in 2014, it's still unclear what kinds of services that insurance will require hospitals to provide, he said.

"We have a real challenge on our hands," Kelly said.

There will be no staffing reductions and no furloughs in the immediate future, he said.

In March 2010, the hospital laid off dozens of employees, bringing its full-time force to about 1,400 employees.