$380 a month for healthcare is the current estimate. A year or so back when they introduced this program they were estimating that it would cost about $200 a month.
It looks like a regular old plan: nominal co-pays for doctor visits, nominal co-pays for prescriptions off an approved list, and pay $50 for an emergency room visit.
Still, that's some amount of dough huh.
You pay up, but since you need a referral to get anything done I can't see how you are going to be able to use up what you put in. I am a reasonably healthy person, and I go to the doctor oh about once every couple of years.
Sure I should have my cholesterol checked ($150 & referral), an internal exam ($125), check a couple of moles ($175 & referral), and lord knows I need an eye exam ($75 & referral) - all about $525.
You can get reduced rates if your income is at or below 300% the federal poverty level. Which means for me means I can't earn more than $29,412 per year ($14.14 per hour). So a dollar over means I have to pay the full price.
If you fail to get insurance by the end of the year you will lose your personal tax exemption. If you still don't have insurance in 2008 you will be penalized on a monthly basis at 50% of the cheapest insurance rate.
All this to insure the 500,000 uninsured of Massachusetts who are probably uninsured for a real reason.
It all just seems like a tremendous rip-off to me.
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