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xiphiasSo, Massachusetts is implementing new rules that are designed to require everyone in the Commonwealth to have health insurance.
It is the most bizarre and byzantine set of health care regulations anyone could imagine. It involves penalizing people on their taxes if they don’t have health care, penalizing businesses that don’t offer health care to their workers because they’re not legally required to do so, having subsidized health care plans, and a bunch of other things.
A lot of people on my friends list are annoyed-to-upset with it on libertarianish principles, in that it’s forcing people to buy a product because it’s good for them, which is very nanny-state-ish. And I see their point. In my mind, I’m less bothered by it, because it’s fundamentally like charging a tax to everyone and then earmarking that money to have the Commonwealth buy health insurance for folks (which, admittedly, wouldn’t be any better from a Libertarian point of view, and, from a practical point of view, would be worse, as the Commonwealth would end up using the money for something else, anyway).
But, there’s one question I’ve not really heard anyone talking about.
Will it work?
And my answer is, “I haven’t a frickin’ clue.”
It is rare for me to have absolutely no gut feeling on what the effects of a piece of legislation will be. I’m not always right, of course, but I usually have SOME sort of feeling one way or another about whether it will have more-or-less the effects it’s designed to have.
I’ve got absolutely no feeling about this one.
It could be horrifically disastrous. It could be brilliant. I really don’t know.
It’d be fantastic if it actually goes forth and ends up with everyone in Massachusetts having reasonably affordable health care. And, well, I’ve got no reason to suspect that it WON’T work.
I’ve also got no reason to suspect that it WILL work.
This is truly a strange situation to be in.
It is the most bizarre and byzantine set of health care regulations anyone could imagine. It involves penalizing people on their taxes if they don’t have health care, penalizing businesses that don’t offer health care to their workers because they’re not legally required to do so, having subsidized health care plans, and a bunch of other things.
A lot of people on my friends list are annoyed-to-upset with it on libertarianish principles, in that it’s forcing people to buy a product because it’s good for them, which is very nanny-state-ish. And I see their point. In my mind, I’m less bothered by it, because it’s fundamentally like charging a tax to everyone and then earmarking that money to have the Commonwealth buy health insurance for folks (which, admittedly, wouldn’t be any better from a Libertarian point of view, and, from a practical point of view, would be worse, as the Commonwealth would end up using the money for something else, anyway).
But, there’s one question I’ve not really heard anyone talking about.
Will it work?
And my answer is, “I haven’t a frickin’ clue.”
It is rare for me to have absolutely no gut feeling on what the effects of a piece of legislation will be. I’m not always right, of course, but I usually have SOME sort of feeling one way or another about whether it will have more-or-less the effects it’s designed to have.
I’ve got absolutely no feeling about this one.
It could be horrifically disastrous. It could be brilliant. I really don’t know.
It’d be fantastic if it actually goes forth and ends up with everyone in Massachusetts having reasonably affordable health care. And, well, I’ve got no reason to suspect that it WON’T work.
I’ve also got no reason to suspect that it WILL work.
This is truly a strange situation to be in.
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Date: 2006-04-11 09:53 pm (UTC)I like your icon.