Mandatory Insurance fines...more taxes

[RodISHI]

Since the senate is looking at MASS as a pattern I looked it up....

This is a pattern they are using evidently.

Copied from; The Official Website of the Attorney General of Massachusetts



Mandatory Health Insurance
What is the Individual Mandate?

The individual mandate is a requirement that all Massachusetts residents over the age of 18, for whom available health insurance is affordable, obtain and maintain health insurance that meets minimum coverage requirements beginning July 1, 2007.

Individuals who cannot show proof of health insurance coverage by Dec. 31, 2007, will lose their personal income tax exemption when filing their 2007 income taxes. The 2006 personal exemption is $3,850 for an individual, which translates into a tax savings of approximately $204 for an individual (5.3 percent of $3,850).

Failure to meet the requirement in 2008 will result in a fine for each month the individual does not have coverage. The fine will equal 50 percent of the least costly, available insurance premium that meets the standard for creditable coverage.
About the Commonwealth Connector Authority

The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority is an independent public authority created to implement significant portions of the new landmark health care reform legislation. The Connector assists qualified Massachusetts adult residents with the purchase of affordable health care coverage if they don’t already have it.

The Connector is an authority operated under the Executive Office for Administration and Finance and is overseen by an appointed Board of 10 public and private representatives. The Connector Board meets the second Thursday of every month. Board meetings are public.

The Connector administers two separate programs; Commonwealth Care and Commonwealth Choice. Commonwealth Care offers subsidized insurance to people whose annual incomes are up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Commonwealth Choice will provide commercial health products to uninsured individuals and small businesses. These products will receive the Connector seal of approval certifying the product is of high value and good quality.
Helpful Resources

To get more general information sources, you can contact the Connector’s general phone number, 1-877-MAEnroll, or to the Connector Public Information Unit, available through their general number at, (617) 933-3030.

You can reach Commonwealth Care on the Web at www.macommonwealthcare.com, and you can reach the Commonwealth Connector on their new website at www.MAhealthconnector.org. Both sites provide phone numbers to two different call centers.

We’re your connection to good health, Massachusetts!

The Health Connector is an independent state agency that helps you find the right health insurance plan. Learn More...

Commonwealth Choice offers many options from brand-name health insurance plans. They all carry our Seal of Approval for quality and value.

Commonwealth Care is low or no-cost health insurance for people who qualify.

Avoid tax penalties. Find out what’s available to you.

It's not that the people are anti-government but more the government is czarist and anti-people. For those of you out there that think you will have a choice this should be a wakeup call. Notice there are only six choices available in Massachusett's state health care program.

State by state these ceo's are raking in the money off of a proclaimed non-profit.

Blue Cross CEO's pay rose 26% - The Boston Globe
Blue Cross CEO's pay rose 26%

The salary and bonus paid to Cleve L. Killingsworth, chairman and chief executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, increased 26 percent last year, to $3.5 million, even though the health insurer's membership declined and its net income fell 49 percent.

Based on previous years' retirement benefits - which Blue Cross-Blue Shield did not report for 2008 - Killingsworth's total pay package was likely about $4.3 million, making him by far the highest paid healthcare executive in Massachusetts.

How about this one, stripping out the money on your way out the door.

$15.3 MILLION BONUS PAID TO BLUE CROSS & BLUE SHIELD EXEC ON HER WAY OUT THE DOOR - Illinois PIRG


$15.3 MILLION BONUS PAID TO BLUE CROSS & BLUE SHIELD EXEC ON HER WAY OUT THE DOOR

When Gail Boudreaux was passed over for Patricia Hemingway Hall for the CEO spot at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois' parent company, she received a payout of $15.3 million.

According to a Crain's Chicago Business report," the payout included a $5-million bonus and $9.9 million in "other compensation" for the former executive vice-president."

But it gets worse.

While health care costs have been rising, forcing Illinois families to choose between coverage and groceries, the former CEO, Raymond McCaskey, got a pay raise last year, bringing in $10.6 million in 2008.

Angela Bray, CEO of the Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., the No. 2 U.S. insurer in the country, made $9.1 million last year

Do the auto companies have Blue Cross insurance?

Are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Officer Salaries Excessive?

In his second year as chief executive officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Daniel Loepp earned $1,657,555, a 67% raise over his $999,351 salary and compensation in 2006, the company's 2007 financial records show.

Blue Cross says its executive compensation is fair measured against both commercial insurers and nonprofits because it must pay enough to retain top talent. Critics, including Attorney General Mike Cox, say Blue Cross spends too much on administrative costs such as salaries. Cox said the average compensation for Blue Cross' top 10 executives rose 42% between 2004 and 2006.

"Those are significant pay hikes for a charitable and benevolent nonprofit, and they stand in stark contrast to what's happening to families and workers, who have seen their purchasing power erode in the face of plant closings, mortgage foreclosures and higher gas prices," Cox said in an e-mail to the Free Press last week.