Being that you are from Canada, I have some questions. Is medical care free in Canada? Are there any health insurance premiums? How quickly can you see a doctor? How quick can you be seen in a hospital during an emergency? How much do prescription drugs cost? Does the price vary, depending upon the drug, or is it the same price for all drugs?
West Coast Girls you must have skipped the section enumerating his credentials. the man is an award winning journalist, a new york times contributor, none-the-less. The man holds a graduate degree from columbia... now, if you can come up with someone who is better suited to discuss climatology, and better able to report on the correct polictical approaches to controlling the planet's temperature, I'd like to meet him... I'm with this reporter. If conservative-americans aren't willing to do ... to do ... to do.... what-ever the hell is necessary to stop the temperature from rising, I think we conservatives should all die ... It's not my place to question such an authority, but there is the possilibilty that even us idiot conservatives would move to higher ground if the water started rising. This of course would turn his beloved blue paradises red... Take that with a grain-of-salt, again, I'm an idiot-hateful-greedy-robber-baron conservative,. I have never contributed to the New York times, in fact, even my letters to the editor have been rejected flat. On a more serioius note ... Al Gore is the best thing that has happened to the conservative movement since Reagan. Long Live Gore! Keep the Stupidity Coming!
Still on the health care care topic, how's this for "freedom": :eek: Does it include a free tasering? SUBMIT...or else... Just think, some of the 2.4 trillion spent on the war could have....for the people...NO! STOP, that is crazy thinking lol. Now submit your money to the King, the HMOs, to Israel "aid", and the War of Terror. Open up your wallets now. ------------------------ The Associated Press December 31, 2007, 3:56PM ET text size: TT No health care? Higher fines in Mass. By STEVE LeBLANC BOSTON The cost of not having health insurance in Massachusetts is going up. When the new year begins Tuesday, most residents who remain uninsured will face monthly fines that could total as much as $912 for individuals and $1,824 for couples by the end of 2008, according to penalty guidelines unveiled by the Department of Revenue on Monday. Individuals who failed to sign up for health insurance by the end of 2007 faced only a one-time loss of their $219 personal income tax exemption. The fines are part of an increasingly aggressive approach written into the health care law designed to pressure Massachusetts residents into getting insurance. The law, intended to create near-universal coverage in the state, was approved by lawmakers and signed by former Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006. It remains unclear how many Massachusetts residents still don't have insurance, but the number could be in the hundreds of thousands. The penalties, which vary with age and income, are based on half the lowest cost plans available through the Health Care Connector. They accrue each month an individual remains uninsured and will be due as part of tax returns filed early in 2009. The penalties apply only to adults deemed able to afford health insurance by the Health Insurance Connector Authority, which oversees the health care law. People can apply for hardship appeals. The highest fine of $76 a month -- or $912 a year -- will be levied against those over the age of 27 making more than three times the federal poverty level of $30,636 for an individual. Married couples who are both uninsured will have to pay fines individually. A couple earning more than $41,076 would have to pay $1,824 in penalties for the year. The fines drop for younger adults and fall even lower for those making less than three times the poverty level. There are no fines for individuals earning less than $15,325 a year. Revenue Commissioner Henry Dormitzer said the department worked to come up with penalties that were fair and easy to understand. John McDonough, executive director of the advocacy group Health Care for All, said the penalties were a good compromise. The way the law was written, 59 year olds could have faced penalties five or six times higher than younger adults in their 20s because their insurance plans typically cost more, McDonough said. "Some will say these are too high. Some will say these are too low. There is plenty of room for argument on both sides," he said. "We are in such uncharted territory." No one knows for sure how many taxpayers will face the fines. Those overseeing the law say the state has added about 300,000 Massachusetts residents to the ranks of the insured this year -- largely as a result of the law. Leslie Kirwan, Gov. Deval Patrick's top budget chief and chairwoman of the Connector board, said estimates of the number of uninsured in Massachusetts before the law took effect ranged from 370,000 to more than half a million
Wow Toronto-I did not know Mass. was doing that-yikes! In my case it would be waaay cheaper just to pay the fine every month-lol-
remember the millions killed by dictators that the us govt supported and loved including shah of iran and saddam.
Unbelievable! I'm surprised everyone in Mass. hasn't left the state. I hope every state doesn't do this. This is just what the insurance companies wanted. Now they'll have to insure people with pre-existing conditions, which in turn will result in higher premiums for everyone, which in turn will mean more profit for them. So this is what achieving universal coverage in the U.S. means...buy it or we'll fine you.