Soap Box Topic of the Day

Check this out.
Massachusetts’ “insured or else” health insurance law is coming into effect, and, as is usually the case with public policy, is a potentially sweet deal for the very poor and the very rich, but somehow leaves the middle class in the lurch.
Typical, because policy-makers tend to put all their eggs in one basket – either that of relieving the poor (a noble cause) or pleasing the rich (not so noble, natch). The middle class is left out in the cold, again, mostly because said policy-makers have little or no awareness, inexplicably, of this particular group.
“Affordable” is a truly hilarious, highly subjective word applied to insurance costs by Massachusetts legislators – as is illustrated in this USA Today article: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2007-07-01-mass-insurance_N.htm?csp=34 . Deeming $600 a month as affordable for someone who makes $35,000 a year? A joke.
And the punchline? No cost control on the part of the state. Insurance companies, as usual, will hold all the power, and certainly their interests lie primarily (okay, completely) in the bottom line.
Affordable insurance is an urgent need in this country, but Massachusetts’ legislating (read: dictating) approach appears short-sighted at best. Let’s hope this does not become a model for the rest of the country.