In Health Care Debate, Lessons from Massachusetts' State-Run Health Care System on Coral Ridge Hour

PR Log (Press Release) – Sep 02, 2009 – CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES NEWS



CONTACT:    

Andrew Scott, (954) 334-5332, a.scott@crministries.org



In Health Care Debate, Lessons from Massachusetts’ State-Run Health Care System, Details on September 6 Coral Ridge Hour



FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (September 1, 2009) – On Sunday September 6, the Coral Ridge Hour television program turns its cameras on Massachusetts, whose government-directed health system forces all residents to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. The Bay State’s experience previews what nationalized health care would impose on all Americans.
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Under Gov. Mitt Romney, Massachusetts in 2006 sought to reduce the number of uninsured residents. Despite the state’s wealth, “Massachusetts . . . had a number of uninsured people, 7 to 9 percent of the population,” notes Regina Herzlinger, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and professor at the Harvard Business School. To reduce the number of the uninsured, the state created a centralized marketplace.



“This caused me great pause,” Herzlinger said. “Centralized marketplaces that are run by the government—think about the Division of Motor Vehicles to imagine how efficient these places would be.”



Dr. James Floyd, a researcher at consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen Health Research Group, said that under the state’s program, residents without insurance are forced to purchase it or pay a tax penalty, which this year amounts to $1,000.



“[The state] also imposed a penalty on businesses that didn’t provide insurance,” Dr. Floyd noted. The rate of uninsured did fall to between 5 and 3 percent, but “to get there, they’ve had to throw over a billion dollars a year. In fact, this year they spent $1.3 billion, not on total healthcare, but just on the additional costs of the reform.”



Program guests indicate that Massachusetts’ health care system mandates insurance coverage for things most people don’t need—such as in-vitro fertilization. And even though most Americans oppose abortion, all it takes is a $50 co-pay to get a taxpayer subsidized abortion under the state’s plan.



“What we can learn from Massachusetts is that when a government takes over a market, even a little one like the Massachusetts market, it limits choice,” said Herzlinger, the author of Who Killed Health Care? and a highly regarded health-care expert. She adds that the only way to artificially lower health care costs is to limit care—to decide who gets what kind of care.



“Massachusetts’ state-run health care plan paints a disturbing picture of what may lie ahead for America if a nationalized health care system is approved by Congress,” said Dr. Jerry Newcombe, host of the Coral Ridge Hour. “Americans can expect increased costs and taxes to fund the health care leviathan, mandated coverage, taxpayer funding of abortions, and more. It’s a plan we cannot afford morally or financially.”





INTERVIEW REQUESTS: To request an interview with Coral Ridge Hour host Dr. Jerry Newcombe, please contact Andrew Scott at a.scott@crministries.org, (954) 334-5332.