Free Republic

If the new health care law wasn’t enough of a mess before last week’s Supreme Court decision, that ruling actually added another layer of cost, complexity and political contentiousness to the bill. By striking down part of the law that required states to expand their Medicaid programs, the court tossed a very hot potato into the laps of state lawmakers everywhere. ObamaCare required states to increase eligibility for Medicaid to 133 percent of the poverty line, or roughly $30,000 per year for a family of four. The expansion would also make childless single men (a notoriously high-cost group) eligible for...

Hospitals in Mass. feel fiscal squeeze 16 reported losses; service cuts feared [RomneyCARE at work] "Massachusetts hospitals are buckling under growing financial strains, with 16 - nearly a quarter of them - losing money last year ... Thirteen hospitals in the state also suffered losses in 2009, but the deficits at many of them widened in 2010 ... Health care professionals say the financial squeeze is likely to tighten ... So far, few have resorted to cutting medical services, but there are concerns that could happen." "Hard-pressed hospitals have done away with thousands of jobs over the past few years....

Earlier this month, the landmark Massachusetts health care reform law turned five years old. Democrats were quick to applaud the anniversary, as the Bay State law is the model for the federal health care reform package that passed last year. The anniversary has proved especially inconvenient for former Massachusetts Governor and probable Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who argued forcefully for his state's reforms. In 2006 he boldly stated, "Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the cost of health care will be reduced." Five years later, that prediction has proved false. Worse, the Massachusetts...