Massachusetts’ Health Care System Has Resulted In A 9% Increase In Emergency Room Visits

Proof • September 23, 2009

Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to adopt the sort of health care reform Democrats now want to pass on the federal level. Massachusetts has a health insurance mandate, meaning that you are required to have health insurance, and a “public option” plan run by the government.
On the national level, Democrats also want to mandate health insurance and have a public option, be it a government-run plan or the health care equivalents of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in health care “co-ops.” Now, the liberals tell us that we need to mandate health insurance because all of the people who don’t have health insurance just end up going to the emergency room to get their care, running up expenses for the rest of us.
But if we use Massachusetts as an example for what will actually happen, the Democrats are wrong. Emergency room visits didn’t go down in Massachusetts as a result of their mandated health care/public option. Emergency room visits went up 9%.
The Independent Institute explains:

…the drumbeat claim that government health-care will be at least partially funded by “savings” from shifting people from expensive emergency room care to affordable preventative care can now be shelved as simply another piece of “all the misinformation that’s been spread over the past few months” President Obama criticized in his Sept. 9 speech to Congress.

I’ve never claimed that our current way of doing health care is perfect. But the problems with our health care right now are caused by government. And adding more government to the equation is only going to make things worse.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Politics

http://Array sayanything-4625

Funny how things happen. None of the states with tort reform have seen their health care costs drop either.

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=16547

* Federal Express invested $1 billion in a new facility in the state.
* Toyota chose Mississippi over about a dozen other states for a new $1.2 billion, 2,000-worker auto plant.
* About 60,000 new jobs have arrived in four years — not a small number in a workforce of about 1.3 million — and a sharp improvement from the 30,000 jobs lost in the four years before Barbour took office.
* Since the law took effect, medical malpractice lawsuits have fallen by nearly 90 percent, which in turn has cut malpractice insurance costs by 30 percent to 45 percent.

Other benefits of Mississippi’s tort reform:

* The state unemployment rate is down to about 6 percent from nearly 9 percent.
* Last year, Mississippi’s per capita income growth was 6.7 percent, third highest of the 50 states

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Heres-your-demonstration-project-Mr-President—-its-called-Mississippi-59990137.html

Since passing tort reform in 2004, Mississippi has seen the number of medical malpractice claims plummet by 91 percent from its peak. The state’s largest medical liability insurer dropped its premiums by 42 percent, and has offered an additional 20 percent rebate each year since tort reform went into effect.

Mississippi’s reforms were truly sweeping. The new laws:

* Changed rules of venue, to prevent abusive court-shopping.
* Got rid of the rule of “joint and several liability” — as Barbour put it, in order to protect the defendant who is only “2 percent negligent” but who has the “deep pockets” that trial lawyers look for when deciding whom to sue.
* Protect innocent landowners and sellers of products. Under the reforms, “if a pharmacist is selling a drug that the FDA has said is appropriate for the purpose it says it’s used for, unless the pharmacist knows it has been tampered with, then that pharmacist is immune,” said Barbour.
* Put caps on punitive damages, with a sliding scale based on the size of the defendant corporation.
* Put caps on non-economic damages, particularly to deal with medical malpractice liability.

nah, tort reform never works.
brenarlo

The number of days to wait for a primary care doctor has also nearly doubled.

The state is going broke.

Not everyone is covered.

It’s a worthless system.
carrick

Massachusetts’ Plan: A Failed Model for Health Care Reform

This is a pretty in-depth discussion with the problems with the Massachusetts program.

The Massachusetts reform law is not providing universal access to care, even in a state with highly favorable circumstances, including previously high levels of spending on health care for the poor, high personal incomes, and low rates of uninsurance. It is not a model for the nation.

And the Democrats want to use this as a model for the national program?
robert108

Sounds like they’ll need emergency room rationing. Maybe some race-based quotas?
SigFan

It’s interesting to watch how Massachusetts seems to be on the forefront of liberal disasters. Several years back, there was a huge housing boom in the “Tech Corridor” up there, house prices inflated wildly, people were clamoring to get there and then the bottom dropped out. People went upside down on their mortgages and lost hundreds if not thousands of high-priced homes. Sound familiar?

Now, they’re showing the nation just how effective state run health care will be. Anyone paying attention?
http://www.bikebubba.blogspot.com/ Bike Bubba

Of course the Democrats want to use this as an example. Since when do Democrats pay attention to data which contradict their claims?
Mongol

Economics 101 – Supply & Demand (or why socialism is a religion with no grounds in real life)
Decrease the price, and demand goes up. Make sure you have enough in supply, otherwise say hello to shortages.
robert108

Mongol: The real problem is that the disdain for profits hinders the creation of additional supply. The ultimate state of socialist economics is stagnation.
robert108

That should be “stagnation and govt rationing by central planning.”
Mongol

Completely agree Robert.

Another thought, even if Zerotron succeeds in wrecking America as he wants, the whole socialist “paradise” will still come crushing down. The genius thinks that he can milk a lifetime or two out of this newly to be established socialistic “czardom”, but it will be much much sooner than he thinks. As such his hopes for presidency for life will be prematurely dashed.
syn

Romneycare: the death of a presidential candidate.
docdave

I have to wonder if many of these visits to the emergency ward are not really ER cases, just more convenient than waiting for a doctors appointment. After all when one doesn’t have to pay for a service, they will take the option that is most convenient for them.
DINO

Mass. has the least amount of people without coverage, Texas has the most.

As usual, you people offer nothing but criticism. You’re useless as citizens, neighbors and humans.
Jackass Jimmy

Yeah but Dino told me before I was wrong for predicting that when health care costs went to zero that demand on the system would go up.

Dumbass.

It may not be perfect, but our health care system is the best on the planet. There’s a reason for that. Why fuck with it? Why drag it down to mediocrity? Oh yeah… there’s votes to buy.
DINO

Funny how things happen. None of the states with tort reform have seen their health care costs drop either.

But 9%? Wow! That’s HUGE! You must have like tons of data from which to draw a conclusion, right? I mean, the Mass plan has been around for decades, right?

Tell you what. We spent BILLIONS if not TRILLIONS on defense in this cesspool country over the last few decades. And what happened? A few guys with BOXCUTTERS managed to penetrate our fancy-schmancy defenses and take down the WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS!

Ok! That’s a wrap! The defense department gets zeroed out. It FAILED!
JB in TX

One factor often missing in social engineering formulas is human nature. The media has us convinced that everything out there is killing us (cokes, burgers, carpet, toys). No WONDER the dumb masses go to the doctor in a heroic effort to survive! BTW I’m a major proponent of preventative health care, but frivolous ABUSE of the medical system is inexcusable. Our immune systems are compromised and superbugs have thrived because we wantonly kill bacteria wherever we find them with antibiotics and antiseptics.. The vast majority of bacteria in our world are necessary for our survival. Abuse of the medical system is not only expensive, but ironically it’s leading to LESS health.
Jackass Jimmy

Why so much misdirection, deflection & hysterics? I pointed out single simple fact: you told me I was wrong when I said that when health care costs go to zero that demand on the system would go up. You were wrong.

Oh yeah… I forgot: Dino’s never wrong.

Dumbass.

Funny how things happen. None of the states with tort reform have seen their health care costs drop either.

But 9%? Wow! That’s HUGE! You must have like tons of data from which to draw a conclusion, right? I mean, the Mass plan has been around for decades, right?

Tell you what. We spent BILLIONS if not TRILLIONS on defense in this cesspool country over the last few decades. And what happened? A few guys with BOXCUTTERS managed to penetrate our fancy-schmancy defenses and take down the WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS!

Ok! That’s a wrap! The defense department gets zeroed out. It FAILED!
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

It’s a worthless system.

Yeah, but it’ll work the next time we try it.

Which is what they always say about socialism.

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Massachusetts’ Health Care System Has Resulted In A 9% Increase In Emergency Room Visits

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