The penalties for not buying insurance in Massachusetts have been set too low to “encourage” compliance, stated Jonathan Gruber, a director of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector.
The proposed 2008 top penalty of $912 per year is a four-fold jump from the $219 penalty people will face when filing their 2007 tax returns.
The secretary of administration and finance is trying to figure out how to “strike a balance in setting penalties that would withstand challenges to their legality and fairness,” writes Alice Dembner (Boston Globe 1/11/08).
Imposing the letter of the law would create an unwieldy schedule of 27 different penalties depending on an individual’s age, income, and place of residence.
Gruber said the proposed penalty would be less than 40 percent of the cost of insurance for younger people, and 20 percent of the cost for older people. A 50 percent penalty, some suggested, would unfairly penalize older people whose insurance premiums are twice as high as those of younger people.
A federal mandate for health insurance is advocated by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Christopher Dodd. They would require comprehensive “insurance” that pays for routine and preventive care.
The proposed “shared responsibility” would force young people to subsidize the health tab for middle-aged and older persons, on top of their payroll tax, writes Betsy McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York. (Wall St J 1/4/08).
“This is contrary to a fundamental American principle. This nation has always believed in making life better for its children, not in exploiting them.”
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