From PatientsUnitedNow.com:
Arizona offered a public plan option: the state’s taxpayers needed to bail out the plan, and benefits and options were reduced for the families who relied on the plan. See The Arizona Republic: instead of becoming self-sufficient, the growth only increased costs.
A public plan for health insurance for all children in Hawaii was introduced in 2008. After only 7 months, the plan was repealed and abandoned because of high costs. 85% of all children who enrolled in the government plan ALREADY had private coverage. See Heartland Institute: unwise to spend public money to replace private coverage that children already had.
Massachusetts instituted a plan for “universal health insurance” for all of its residents. Since enacting the plan in 2006, the state’s spending on health care has increased 42%. And compared to the national average, Massachusetts, which already spent on average 25% more per person, now spends 33% more than the national average. New York Times: The day of reckoning has arrived.
A mandate that we be forced to purchase health insurance—or pay fines, tax penalties, even have our wages garnished—will do nothing to reduce overall health care costs or improve access for most Americans. In fact, in Massachusetts where there currently is an individual mandate, average health insurance premiums are over three times the national average.
Write your senators, representatives, and local government officials and tell them that we don’t want the government to control America’s health care.