Health Care for All points us to more evidence of MA residents’ big, juicy brains:
University of Mass. poll (6/6 to 6/12/05) for MassInsight: (a little squirrel gave them to us.)
How much responsibility do you think state government has for keeping the state’s health care system financially stable?
A lot: 47%; Some: 37%; Not Much: 9%; None: 4%Oneproposal to increase access to healthcare coverage for the uninsuredrequired increasing the cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack. How stronglywould you support such a proposal?
Very Strongly: 63%; Somewhat Strongly: 13%; Not Very Strongly: 5%; Not at All: 17%Today,many companies like Stop & Shop, CVS, and Home Depot do not offerhealth insurance to their part time workers. When these employeesbecome ill, they use hospital emergency rooms and the state pays thebill. How strongly would you support the state assessing a tax oncompanies which do not offer health insurance for those employees whouse the state’s Free Care Pool?
Very Strongly: 55%; Somewhat Strongly: 26%; Not Very Strongly: 7%; Not at All: 10%.
(HCFA: hope it’s OK that I just stole your post in its entirety… it doesn’t make much sense otherwise.)
So yeah, put it the right terms, people want the government to help out with health care. "Market-based" razzle-dazzle will only excite free-market purists and special interests — who thankfully do not seem to comprise a majority of voters in this state. Most folks just want to see a doctor when they need to, without going bankrupt in the process. Pretty simple.
And a cigarette tax hike seems to be pretty uncontroversial: 76% support. As one GBIO-affiliated minister/wag said, "We’re going to go encourage people to smoke so that we can pay for health care." Ha. Ironic … and yet fitting.
How do you make CVS pay health care for part time employees but allow small operation like plumber who uses help.
^ Two ways: 1. Tax businesses more fairly (?!). By that, I mean make sure businesses that are incorporated out of MA are paying appropriate taxes to pay for their MA employees. I have no idea what business tax code looks like, or if this is happening or not. If it isn’t, it should be.2. Have a threshold for number of part-time employees. Pulling numbers out of my butt:1-100: 0101-500: x * num_employees501-1000: y * num_employees1001+: z * num_employeeswhere x is less than y is less than z, and it’s graduated like the Federal income tax, so that if you have 501 part time employees, you pay 0100 + x400 + y*1.If by “how do you make” you mean “is it fair to make”, that’s a different question…
Don’t we already have the highest statewide cigarette tax in the country? I’m skeptical that we can wring much more money out of that source without stringing barbed wire along the border with N.H.
Brittain, I’m pretty sure the answer to that is “no”. Rhode Island, for instance … I think there are others. I will check and get back to you later.
sorry, itg seems that your universal health is the same as yoru housing, universal utopia.
http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/cigarett.htmlYou're right, R.I. is $2.46/pack, Massachusetts is $1.51/pack. We’re 6th in the country, but tied with Connecticut for 2nd in New England, so we’re not out front by any means.New Hampshire is still 52 cents, though.
Hi Troll,This is from the GBIO fact sheet, regarding HA3:[HA3 would] require employers who do not provide health insurance for their employees to pay an assessment,based on the size o thecompany ?s payroll. Small,low-payroll irmswould be exempt.So no effect on the plumber.