Governor Makes a Muck of Massachusetts Health Care Bill

by Mike Hall, Apr 12, 2006

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) let employers off the hook and literally added insult to injury for workers when he vetoed part of a new health care law that forces uninsured workers to buy coverage or face fines and higher taxes.

Using a line-item veto, Romney deleted a $295 a year assessment on employers who do not offer health insurance to their workers. Yet conservative estimates predict working families could be paying more than $600 a month for heath coverage under the new law.

After giving employers a free pass, Romney signed the legislation that Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert J. Haynes fears “will lead to an even more precipitous decline in employer-provided health care.”

The $295 annual assessment per worker was already so low that it created “an economic incentive for many businesses to pay the assessment rather than provide health care for their workers,” says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

Without the employer assessment, that incentive becomes even more enticing. The Massachusetts legislature is expected to hold an override vote on Romney’s veto.

The Massachusetts bill—patterned on a plan from ultraconservative former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich—is the most far-reaching scheme to shift the burden of health care costs to workers.

Under the legislation, individuals who don’t qualify for the state Medicaid program or for insurance through their jobs would be forced to buy low-cost private plans.

In what could be a potential plus for low-income families, the state will pay the entire premium for individuals and families earning less than 100 percent of the poverty level—$9,800 for a single person and $20,000 for a family of four—and will subsidize premiums for those who earn between 100 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

However, uninsured individuals with income greater than 300 percent of the poverty level will be on their own to pay the full cost.

Sweeney says the Massachusetts law punishes middle-income families:

A typical family in which the husband and wife each earn a little more than $30,000 and who have two children would be forced to purchase health care, but would not be qualified for any help, even if their employer does not offer any coverage or they can’t afford their share of the premium. With the average employer-sponsored insurance premium costing more than $4,000 a year for single workers and close to $11,000 a year for working families, Massachusetts’ new requirement will bankrupt many middle-class families.

The AFL-CIO union movement supports health care reforms that require employers to live up to their responsibilities and provide health care to their employees.

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