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www.healthleadersmedia.com...
Study: Massachusetts Health Reform is a Failed Model
Les Masterson, for HealthLeaders Media, February 19, 2009
The single-payer healthcare system was once the reform flavor of the moment, but it has been largely pushed to the rear and replaced by talk of a public insurance option and individual mandate.
Massachusetts' healthcare reform, which included an individual mandate that required residents to purchase insurance, has increased coverage, but critics charge that the plan has not decreased costs or improved access to care.
In a study released Wednesday, two organizations say the Massachusetts health system is a failure and national policymakers should not look to that model as a possible solution. Instead, they propose a single-payer "Medicare for all" system as a better alternative.
thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com...
April 17, 2013, 6:23 pm
Misconceptions Could Lead to Health Law ‘Train Wreck,’ Baucus Warns
A routine Senate budget hearing turned into a public scolding as a prominent backer of the health care overhaul warned that a lack of public information could cause a “train wreck” as the law’s implementation moves forward.
Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, grilled the health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, during a hearing on Wednesday about the administration’s plans to educate the public about benefits. With the enrollment period for insurance exchanges set to begin Oct. 1, Mr. Baucus said that citizens, especially small businesses, had “no idea what to do.”
He said he gave a “failing grade” to the administration’s public information efforts.
“I’m concerned that lack of clear information is leading to misconceptions and misinformation, and people generally dislike what they don’t understand,” Mr. Baucus said, citing a March poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation showing that high proportions of Americans had misconceptions about the law’s provisions.
The Kaiser poll showed that 40 percent of respondents believe erroneously that the law creates a government panel to make end-of-life decisions for Medicare recipients, and that 57 percent think it includes a public insurance option.