Massachusetts Official Refutes Latest GOP Health Care Attacks

The hot new Republican hit on health care reform legislation came in the form of a press release from Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich).

Under Democratic-authored health care reform, Camp insisted, if people defied the individual mandate and refused to purchase insurance, they could potentially be imprisoned for up to five years. The charge was picked up by a host of fellow Republican lawmakers during speeches on the floor and was played up by conservative media.

The problem is, there's simply no evidence that it's true. In fact, just the opposite.

As Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office noted in a press release of its own, only people "truly capable" of purchasing health insurance (i.e., not lower-income Americans and those facing financial hardship) would face fees for not buying it. The penalty would be enforced (or issue litigated) in civil court, much like the majority of cases that deal with tax policy and the IRS.

If Republicans don't believe Pelosi, they could look at the reforms instituted by one of their own.

Under Massachusetts' health care policy, implemented by former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the state also has an individual mandate for insurance coverage -- and not one individual has been arrested for not purchasing insurance since the reforms were implemented, an official says.

"Absolutely not one single person," said Celia Wcislo, who serves on the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Board, when asked how many people have suffered such a fate.

Comments

[RichardU]

The issue is not whether someone has been arrested, but if the government has the power to threaten someone with jail time. Plea bargains generally use the threat of huge penalties to agree to something more reasonable. It is wrong for the government to have the power to threaten imprisonment because someone chooses not to purchase health insurance.

Republicans are wrong for saying people WILL go to jail for 5 years, but the ones that say people CAN go to jail for 5 years are very correct in demonstrating the level of fear such a penalty carries. That fear will be used by attorneys for anyone charged with evading the individual mandate tax, so it is fair game.

[Princemarko]

didnt mass.recently scale back healthcare because of budget deficits?

[ReealOne]

LMAO!! Wow.. the gop/repubs can't win for losin'.

Problem is, they keep using the same old strategy of lies, mis-information, and fear-mongering to try to defeat ANYTHING on the Dem's agenda.... even when it's a practice that has been created or currently in place by their own party members.

I wonder if the gop/repubs REALLY knows that this makes them look pathetic, desparate and hypocrtical. Oh well, it hasn't stopped them so far, and I'm sure that it never will. The difference now is that we all know their "tactics".