Costs Keep Rising in Massachusetts

The October 27, 2009 Wall Street Journal includes a piece by Grace-Marie Turner discussing the fact that health care costs have continued to rise in Massachusetts despite the promised savings of the state's health care reform.

As Turner notes:

Massachusetts is a problematic model on which to base federal health-care reform because the state relies heavily on Medicaid. Washington in 2008 agreed to provide the state with $10.6 billion over three years as part of its Medicaid waiver request, which allows the state to subsidize insurance for people with incomes higher than Medicaid rules normally allow.

Unlike Massachusetts, the federal government doesn't have a back-up source of funds to help it pay for national health care. Washington might want to see how Massachusetts does in solving these problems before proceeding with a similar model for the country.

(Read the full text of "Costs Keep Rising".)

Implementing the Massachusetts plan at a national level will be a recipe for disaster.