Monday, 12 November 2007
Massachusetts Residents Nearing Deadline To Obtain Health Insurance
Massachusetts residents must have health insurance by December 31, 2007 or they will be penalized $219 on their personal tax returns, reported the Cape Cod Times.
With the deadline approaching, state officials warn residents that they only have three days to find coverage. If they don’t by a plan by this Thursday, there’s no guarantee that their insurance coverage will start by December 31.
“If you purchase it by {this Thursday] November 15, your coverage starts December 1. After that date, it’s most likely your coverage won’t start until January 1,” said Richard Powers. Powers is the spokesperson for the Commonwealth Connector, the agency offering the state-subsidized Commonwealth Care plan.
Any residents who earn less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level — $28,710 for individuals and $61,956 for a family of four — are eligible for the Commonwealth Care plan.
There are almost 218,000 newly insured Massachusetts residents thanks to the law and the many available insurance programs such as Commonwealth. But the state’s Division of Health Care Finance and Policy estimates that at least 178,000 people still need insurance.
“It took three years to pass health care reform. It’s going to take several years to implement it as well,” said Powers.
“There are many more people today who have the security of a good health plan who didn’t one year ago. It’s certainly progress but still a long way to go,” he added.
Technorati Tags: Massachusetts health insurance universal healthcare health insurance deadline
