Mass Ooops

Previously on IB: Massachusetts implements a new mandatory health insurance scheme. It is projected to cost $(fill in the blank), and to (eventually) cover everyone in the state.

Fast forward to reality...er, today:

"Enrollment in the state's new subsidized health plan is growing so quickly that the state could face a funding gap as large as $147 million by the end of the fiscal year, according to a state projection."

Well why not? When "someone else" (i.e. the taxpayer) is picking up the tab, it's not too difficult to see the attraction. But that $147 mil is only the beginning; we have to wait for the second page of the article to learn that the true liability is over $600 million, more than 4 times the current shortfall.

And since the plan does absolutely nothing to control the cost of health care, expect those numbers to climb even (ever?) higher.

One bright spot: by treating the various states as independent laboratories for these experiments, we're able to contain the damage, yet still learn a little bit more about which kinds of plans will work, and which ones not so much.