Health Care Program in Massachusetts: Are People Happy?

The “Update of Health Reform in Massachusetts” was published few days back and is summarized by Kay Lazar in The Boston Globe. It is a survey of 4000 adults which analyzes the impact of universal care since 2006 when it was ushered in. The news is not encouraging. Massachusetts citizens have experienced many problems with this program. It is being looked at as a possible federal model. It is essentially a preview of the multitude of challenges we can expect to see in affordability, administration and implementation.

Increasing residents in Massachusetts are finding it difficult to pay their medical bills again. Since the recession started, the number of patients having trouble paying medical bills has risen from 16.5% to 17.9%. The costs of caring for the population are rising faster than inflation. Lower income people are putting off care so that they not getting care they need. This will snowball; we will see people being sicker when they do present for care.

The survey demonstrated that the population still supports the 2006 law. A similar majority of 70% are in favor as in 2006. More people have a health care provider (does that mean doctor or other providers too??) now and have visited a dentist than in 2006. They conclude that access is good but the reform has made it better. However, the non-urgent care ER visit rate has not changed significantly over the few years it is in effect. People still use the ER for care inappropriately. The surveyors cite the fact that it is the lower income group that does so because they cannot get doctor appointments fast enough. Patients with state subsidized care had the most trouble because doctors would not accept their kind of insurance.

Soaring costs is the number one problem: increasing at a rate of 8% per year and due to the high costs of hospital care and its high utilization. No one is talking about the cost to the taxpayer and the overall cost of this program. It is skyrocketing. But they will.

Maybe these guys should have seen the article in the same issue by Robert Weisman. He reports that the state government Medicaid program denied 23.8% of claims and paid them in 56 days. The average of the other four private insurance providers was 55% and 34 days respectively. And we aren’t considering the pittance the doctor is paid by Medicaid. Would any other business live with that?