A Great Success

The Wall Street Journal ^ | October 27th, 2009 | MICHAEL J. WIDMER

[Bishop_Malachi]

Facts are a stubborn thing.

And despite the false claims of ideologues, academics and politicians, the facts tell the story of Massachusetts' remarkably successful health-reform law. The lengths that critics have gone to in their various attempts to disprove the obvious—that our state's landmark 2006 law and its implementation amount to a truly historic achievement—would be amusing if the subject were not so serious.

[Bishop_Malachi]

There is of course a cost to providing subsidized insurance. The savings achieved by reducing the amount of free care being delivered helps pay for subsidies and holds down the costs of expanding coverage. But no informed observer ever said the Massachusetts plan would lower health-care costs for everyone.

The care never was free to begin with. And how did the bill reduce the demand for health care after it went into effect? Am I missing something? Will it not ultimately lead to higher and higher costs as doctors increase prises to compensate for the rise in demand? One last question: did he say that the program is increasing by an average of 88 million each year?....as in compounded by 88 million each year? Yikes!

[GeronL]

successful??

Oh please

[secretagent]

The counterpoint:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574454893530315578.html