I’m surprised Catron allowed this - it exposes just how overpriced US medicine is.

‘Is it too much to actually read the above post or the Boston Globe original article?’

I read it all - as I said above, others think that the Alliance is poorly managed. Have a look at the link below, which is about a similar group that anticipated change. Also consider that Boston has some of the highest priced medicine in the world and wonder whether docs should perhaps earn less. And the head of the Cambridge Alliance makes about $630,000 a year.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x1775733049

‘But Boston Medical Center, which received much of the same funding for uninsured patients as the Cambridge Health Alliance before last year’s health insurance reform, isn’t reporting similar financial problems.’

See:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_12/b4076036777780.htm

From the very beginning of the Globe report:

“Cambridge Health Alliance, a key part of the Boston area’s healthcare network, is facing a potentially “catastrophic” loss this year and is looking to eliminate up to 300 jobs, or about 9 percent of its workforce, in an effort to stabilize finances.

The alliance, which includes Cambridge Hospital, Somerville Hospital, and Whidden Hospital in Everett, says it is being hit hard by the state’s new healthcare reform law, which has left it responsible for providing free care for those without insurance while reducing the hospitals’ compensation for such services.”

That’s a grown up society for you.

‘Massachusetts is going to see a vast reduction in hospital services available every year, for many years to come.’

No, it’s not.

I call this the “Ontario-ization” of Massachusetts. “Universal coverage” with much of the population with no PCPs. Doctor fees set less than Medicaid. No beds at the greatly shrunk hospitals. Third rate care even if you get admitted by greatly shrunk staff. Old out-of-date equipment. No options if you are desparately sick. No options. No choice. Passive aggressive bureaucratized second rate doctors who don’t give a darn.

This is the antithesis of a free market solution. Or perhaps the usual Orwellian definition of free market.

And their liberty is trampled as a choice they DID have before is removed - the choice NOT to have a plan.

Once people are FORCED to have a plan, then they can be forced to do anything to abide by the rules of the plan, e.g. quit smoking or you will not have a plan. No plan - pay the penalty. Ahhh - the land of the free…

As for Mass, surely the availability of more lower cost plans is at least on the way to the consumer choice you espouse.

Yes.

“I would have thought you free market junkies would be applauding the Mass reform.”

Even you don’t believe this silly statement.

And here a question for Catron - would you have preferred that your government hadn’t intervened in Bear Stearns and interest rates? Isn’t this meddling with the free market?

I suspect that they are illegal aliens, students, out of state transients coming for “free care,” and people who choose NOT to be insured.

Whoever these people are, there are a huge number of them and they use a lot of health care.

The OTHER issue is that obviously hospital reimbursements have been set penuriously low.

And so the socialization of Massachusetts begins, with a vast constriction in services available. Welcome to (medical) hell.