Posted on 08/10/2010 2:24:54 PM PDT by GOPsterinMA
Michael Merlina was fed up, frustrated and seemingly out of options when he walked into Middlesex Superior Court last week and plunked down $275 for court fees.
With help from a few clerks, Merlina became his own lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority.
The 29-year-old North Reading glazier is fighting the $2,000 state fine for not having health insurance. In 2009, the first year penalties were in place, Merlina paid a $400 fine for him his wife.
This time, he balked.
“It makes no sense to me,” Merlina told The Pulse. “I’m a hard-working, tax-paying guy who can’t afford $800 a month for health insurance, or the $2,000 penalty for not having it, and nobody seems to get this.”
Here in Massachusetts, which requires all residents to have health insurance, some working stiffs like Merlina fall through the cracks.
He’s not one of the 184,000 Massachusetts residents poor enough to qualify for the state’s mostly free health care. Nor is he lucky enough to work for a company that provides insurance.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonherald.com ...
Where’s your web-site Mike?!!!!
Can he bitch slap the chump Romney too, while he’s at it?
“Can he bitch slap the chump Romney too, while he’s at it?”
Yes, but it would take hours getting the caked-on makeup off his palm.
Beat me to the post by a minute. I hope this guy sticks it to the Connector. Sadly he has no chance. The powers that be will see to that
There's a problem. Good work on his part to file though.
The comments after this article are great! One person volunteered to donate to Mike’s legal fund. If he starts one, I’ll send a little. It’s about time somebody stood up to these goons!
Oh, and multi-millionaire Romney who forced this on people like Mike - I hope you are satisfied with the misery you have inflicted on people who have far fewer resources than you do. Romney is despicable.
Wonder if this is whats in store for me. Laid off in July, I waived the COBRA benefits extension. Unemployed, I need to cut back on expenses until I get back on my feet, and $600 per month to keep my medical insurance going was one of the expenses I cut. Does that make me criminal under ObamaCare? I’m reasonably healthy and have no family so I figured I’d take the chance.
I foresee an exodus.....en masse... :)
HA!
You gotta admit, it’s particularly nasty to charge the working poor (and most entrepreneurs start in that category) to not have insurance.
And there are those on this site who promote Romney for president!!!
There's another problem. That's pretty crappy luck.
If you refuse to pay the fine to the IRS, it sure does. You can go to jail.
Hmmm, wonder if folks in this kind of bind could get around this nonsense by claiming residency in a nearby state?
Does anyone know?
Now this is how you beat the system in MA. Quit your job, lay yourself off or something to that effect. Take your two weeks unemployment benefits check and apply for the state insurance. If you’re single you can get a decent plan for $50 a month. Get the insurance and hire yourself back. You have a year to go before you need to address the insurance issue again. When it’s coming up for review, lay yourself off again and repeat as above.
Sweet. I love this state/sarc
People from ma should really know better, their is no excuse, romney only obeyed the law and signed the bill put in front of him, he tried to veto it but was overturned by the ma house and senate which is 35 dems to 5 repubs in the senate or 87% dem and the house, which is 144 dems to 16 repubs or 89% dem
Of course I blame the ignornant that listen to the globe because had the idiots from ma not slammed romney for something he could not change we would not have been stuck with the mainstream medias choice for the republican nomination mccain, and romney would be 1000 times better than obama
I agree.
Hmmm, wonder if folks in this kind of bind could get around this nonsense by claiming residency in a nearby state?
That out is only reserved for politicains who don’t want to live or pay taxes in the same locale where they screw their constituents...
Unfortunately any number multiplied by zero equals zero, therefore the term 1000 times better than Obama has no meaning. Even if he is a trillion times better than Obama that equals worthless. You need some other way of rating Romney so that we can gather some meaning.
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