Employers Should Contribute More Under Massachusetts’ Health Insurance Law If Beneficiary Costs Increase, Editorial States

The Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority "is about to raise its rates on people who are living on limited incomes," but costs for coverage "should not be so high ... that they are a burden for people with chronic conditions or discourage them from getting necessary care," according to a Boston Globe editorial. When the Connector meets to set the rates on Thursday, "actuarial prudence needs to be leavened by compassion," with the officials realizing that the higher copayments "may not sound like much but [add] up to a major burden for people with multiple ailments and several prescriptions," the editorial continues.

"Rates will be going up, as they nearly always do" for health insurance, but "one exception to this rule is the $295-per-worker penalty leveled on companies employing more than nine workers that do not offer insurance," the editorial states, concluding, "The goal of the Health Reform Law ... is a shared responsibility that requires continual reassessment. If people on limited incomes must pay more, why not employers?" (Boston Globe, 2/27).