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I've said it before and I'll say it again - the MA health care law ("RomneyCare", which is functionally very similar to "ObamaCare") is really what let me start

by kgrin 16y ago

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the MA health care law ("RomneyCare", which is functionally very similar to "ObamaCare") is really what let me start a startup - the money wasn't the issue, but the ability to get an individual policy at a reasonable (not at all subsidized, just group-negotiated) rate was.

krschultz 16y ago
Good point, Boston is very high on my list of places to move for the startup scene (I currently live in eastern CT, previously worked in NYC, so I'm closer to Boston than SF.)
keeptrying 16y ago
Do you have to have lived in MA for a while to be able to get this or do you just need to live there when you apply for medical insurance?
- kgrin 16y ago
  You can do it right away - and in fact, basically have to, since the other part of the puzzle is that you MUST be insured. Ultimately it's not really that clever - the state just acts as a giant group purchaser, and the fact that it's compulsory spreads the risk around so that it's not an adverse selection problem. It seems silly to shill for it, but all the details are (more or less) explained on the site: http://www.mahealthconnector.org http://www.mahealthconnector.org Note that the reason you can apply for it right away, unlike other state "benefits", is that it's not really a benefit - there's no subsidy (at least, not for self- or startup-employed folks like me who very well can afford it), so there's no real cost to the state of letting 1, 2, or 17000 more people buy in (and in fact there's an advantage, because you increase the risk pool).
  - Vivtek 16y ago
    Now if I could only buy into it without moving to MA...
  - keeptrying 16y ago
    It looks like you can only enroll between July and august. Man this insurance thing is like the hardest block in becoming an entrepreneur!
phishphood 16y ago
+1 on mass health care, very reasonable rates and abundance of good options. I was very much against it and actually voted no but came to see the benefits and changed my opinion
maguay 16y ago
Amazing. I just looked over MA's health care info, and it's much more affordable (and covers much more) than the average insurance plan in other states. Congress, THIS is what we need for all of America (or something that's at least that level of coverage for that price...)
- kgrin 16y ago
  The beauty of large groups negotiating! That said, that's roughly what the ACA ("ObamaCare") will likely end up with, if it doesn't get derailed, except that it'll take a few years to get there because 50 states is more complicated than one. Actually, it could scale reasonably well, but for political reasons wasn't set up that way. So instead, each state will set up its own exchange; I suspect some will be MA-quality, some will be better, some will be poorer.

by kgrin 16y ago

krschultz 16y ago

Good point, Boston is very high on my list of places to move for the startup scene (I currently live in eastern CT, previously worked in NYC, so I'm closer to Boston than SF.)

keeptrying 16y ago

Do you have to have lived in MA for a while to be able to get this or do you just need to live there when you apply for medical insurance?

kgrin 16y ago
You can do it right away - and in fact, basically have to, since the other part of the puzzle is that you MUST be insured. Ultimately it's not really that clever - the state just acts as a giant group purchaser, and the fact that it's compulsory spreads the risk around so that it's not an adverse selection problem. It seems silly to shill for it, but all the details are (more or less) explained on the site: http://www.mahealthconnector.org http://www.mahealthconnector.org Note that the reason you can apply for it right away, unlike other state "benefits", is that it's not really a benefit - there's no subsidy (at least, not for self- or startup-employed folks like me who very well can afford it), so there's no real cost to the state of letting 1, 2, or 17000 more people buy in (and in fact there's an advantage, because you increase the risk pool).
- Vivtek 16y ago
  Now if I could only buy into it without moving to MA...
- keeptrying 16y ago
  It looks like you can only enroll between July and august. Man this insurance thing is like the hardest block in becoming an entrepreneur!

phishphood 16y ago

+1 on mass health care, very reasonable rates and abundance of good options. I was very much against it and actually voted no but came to see the benefits and changed my opinion

maguay 16y ago

Amazing. I just looked over MA's health care info, and it's much more affordable (and covers much more) than the average insurance plan in other states. Congress, THIS is what we need for all of America (or something that's at least that level of coverage for that price...)

kgrin 16y ago
The beauty of large groups negotiating! That said, that's roughly what the ACA ("ObamaCare") will likely end up with, if it doesn't get derailed, except that it'll take a few years to get there because 50 states is more complicated than one. Actually, it could scale reasonably well, but for political reasons wasn't set up that way. So instead, each state will set up its own exchange; I suspect some will be MA-quality, some will be better, some will be poorer.