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Insure this!

Why some twentysomethings won’t buy health insurance — even though it means they’ll be breaking the law
By MIKE MILIARD  |  October 31, 2007

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Guinea pigs: The future of the nation’s health-care reform rests on the tattooed shoulders of Massachusetts’s young adults. By David S. Bernstein.
“Actually, y’know, no. I think . . . fuck ’em. I don’t care.”

Noel, a 38-year-old bicycle courier with gray eyes and a round, stubbled face, is sitting on a leaf-shaded bench in Post Office Square. And he’s just answered my question: do you plan to sign up for a health-insurance plan, now that anyone who isn’t covered as of December 31 will be penalized on their taxes?

I press. “Even though the Commonwealth is offering an array of subsidized plans for people whose income levels qualify?”

Noel laughs. And laughs. Hahahahahahaha. Aahhh-hahahahaha! “That’s funny, man! And how do you get these subsidized plans? You call one phone number, and then you’re redirected to another one, and another one?”

Well, to hear it told, that’s occasionally been the case. But it also seems fairly easy to navigate the Web site of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector (mahealthconnector.org), an organization that was set up, in the wake of Massachusetts’s landmark mandatory-insurance law, to help people without coverage find a plan that fits them — and their income.

And this much is also true: being a bike messenger is an insanely dangerous job. According to a 2002 Harvard School of Public Health study titled “Occupational Injuries Among Boston Bicycle Messengers,” a sample of 113 couriers found that 70 percent had suffered at least one injury leading to lost work days, and 55 percent had accidents that landed them in a doctor’s office or hospital. Car doors swing open unexpectedly. Pedestrians stand stodgily on the sidewalk. Cars swerve around corners. Fractures, dislocations, and sprains! “Twenty-four percent of messengers reported wearing a helmet on a regular basis,” the study noted, “and 32 percent have health insurance.”

Noel does have a helmet. But he does not have insurance. This, despite the fact that he’s been injured on the job more than once. “Uh, I’ve been doored. Aaaaand I flipped over my bike on Beacon Hill and skidded across an intersection,” he says matter-of-factly. “One time I didn’t have to go to the hospital, I just toughed it out. And the other time . . . shit . . . I think I paid it myself.”

Although he confesses that “occasionally I think about it, and it kind of bothers me, yeah,” Noel has no plans to buy insurance anytime soon. He doesn’t like the government telling him what to do. If the financial penalties accrued get out of hand, he might be spurred to action, he says. But until then, he’s just going to sit tight.

Which is too bad. Because his participation is vital to the success of this groundbreaking program — one that has the potential to momentously influence the national insurance debate. In the meantime, Noel will go to work each day uninsured, hoping danger doesn’t loom just around the block.

The price you pay
“Individuals who cannot show proof of health-insurance coverage by Dec. 31, 2007, will lose their personal-income-tax exemption when filing their 2007 income taxes,” reads the stern-sounding diktat on Mass.gov. Effectively, that’s a $219 fine.

Which is not chump change, of course, but compared, say, with the $3000 settlements extracted by the RIAA from people caught sharing music files online, it’s a bargain. So it’s not hard to believe that Massachusetts citizens with a libertarian bent might be willing to pay it rather than get the required insurance, just to make a point about governmental intrusion.

But that ain’t all. “Failure to meet the requirement in 2008 will result in a fine for each month [emphasis added] the individual does not have coverage. The fine will equal 50 percent of the least-costly, available insurance premium that meets the standard for creditable coverage.” As the saying goes: it adds up.

One can understand how young adults who don’t have health insurance through work (or through their parents) might be upset about a mandate — signed into law in April 2006 by an enthusiastic Mitt Romney, after being passed 154 to 2 in the House and 37 to 0 in the Senate — that requires them to fork out cash for an insurance plan, lest they be compelled to fork out more cash in punishment.

“[I] know a lot of people who will more or less be financially crippled by this,” wrote one poster on Boston’s lemmingtrail message board (board.lemmingtrail.com) this past spring, “mostly because they are young, make close to minimum wage, and have student-loan debt.”

Wrote another, “it is a fucking CRIME that we don’t have universal health care in this country, and we instead get stuck with these weird laws that try and compensate.”

Several posts later, however, a member spoke up: “I find it very hard to believe that any of the people in this thread complaining about inability to pay have a very good reason. If you can’t afford 100 bucks a month — maybe you need to buy a few less CDs or records.”

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Comments
Insure this!
Do you like facts? Here are some. Hillarycare is ALREADY turning into a train-wreck in your state, and it's going to be a bigger one once your state start to enforce it. No, it isn't self-indulgent 20-somethings that are the problem with your state's profit guarantee for health insurance company program. I hope every one of the people who voted for this is turned out of offi ce by the voters. Your state government is a national joke. Maybe an incumbent-free state legislature might give you a chance to experience a decent quality of government for a change. I have a friend in your state (used to be two, but the other one moved to New Hampshire.) -------- start fair usage quote //www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/11/01/when_wages_dont_pay_the_bills/ The country should also modernize the federal poverty line, which grossly understates poverty, especially in high-cost states. The 2007 level is set at $20,650 a year for a family of four. But that's a pittance in places like Boston, where a family of four with two school-aged children actually needs $53,760 to cover costs, according to the self-sufficiency standard published by the Crittenton Women's Union, a local nonprofit. Released in part by the Center for Social Policy at UMass-Boston, the report says some 41 million people nationwide live in families facing a "hardships gap." Breadwinners work, and many get assistance from six public programs (welfare, food stamps, child-care subsidies, housing support, Medicaid, and the earned income tax credit), but they still don't earn enough to cover costs. Massachusetts results, released yesterday, indicate that 900,000 state residents fall in this gap. -------- end fair usage quote It is ironic that an alleged "alternative" newspaper would shill for subsidies for the corporate health care industry that objective observers know is the main cause of what's wrong with health care in America.
By A.Lizard on 11/02/2007 at 6:17:08
Insure this!
Right on! Last I looked, I've never seen ONE insurance company, politician or lawyer that ever cured anybody! This whole thing is a give-away for insurance companies, make-work for government hacks and another source of revenue to pay for them. It all SUCKS! Got LIBERTY?
By Mikey on 11/02/2007 at 7:13:41
Insure this!
so, get this... 2 yrs ago I got cancer at age 30. If I hadn't had insurance thru work I'd be dead now. No joke. They found it at stage 2; I'd never have gone to the dr if I hadn't had insurance already... I know we're all immortal and can't die/get sick, but then something happens to you that changes your life. The OTHER "C word." If there are deals to help you get insured, DO IT. You might not be as lucky. cheers
By jensch on 11/07/2007 at 6:49:39
Insure this!
Another fine example of government parenting. If you don't want health insurance you shouldn't be forced to purchase it. There are numerous people who work 9 to 5's where their employers simply don't offer insurance. And these folks have car payments, student loans, rent to pay up, and debt up the wazoo. Why should you be penalized for not being able to afford insurance? Indeed Romney hasn't given Massachusetts a fair deal here. The sadest part is that people support the new reform law because they're unaware not everyone has it as easy as they do. Not everyone has 401k, health, dental, and a respectable salary. Of course I don't support people running up a hospital bill and refusing to pay for it. But why should people be penalized for being poor? Talk about insult to injury.
By Liam on 11/14/2007 at 2:21:28
Insure this!
Living in a country where affordable health care is only a plane ride away I don't understand why this is necessary. I don't have insurance and wonder why everyone who wants it in this country has to pay 1000$ a month for a family of 4 just to feel safe and cared for by a system that is grossly inadequate and profits from the sick and dying. I got enough money to get anyone in my family to Tailand where they have affordable health care and nice rooms. I don't need to pay these scammers. So I will lie like a politician at tax time. God Bless America
By fishman1 on 11/14/2007 at 6:21:02

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