Some folks here make negative comments about what they call "RomneyCare," but in my experience, it works. Of course it's not perfect, but as I said, if it didn't exist I would have no health care at all.

My job got eliminated a year ago December and except for a low paying, life-sucking part-time, benefit-less for-now job, I have not been able to find employment. Because of what MA has done regarding health insurance, I have been covered all year. I am fortunate to have not had any serious health care issues this year, but routine care is important as well. Because of MA health care, I was able to get a mammogram. I got a colonoscopy. I got a pap smear, which all women should have annually but is even more important for me as a follow up to surgery that removed cancer cells a few years ago. Because of that gynecological appointment, my savvy doctor decided to measure my height, which had shrunk by an inch, and then sent me for a bone density test. That test showed that I have osteoporosis for which I'm now taking medication, affordable because of my health insurance.

If I didn't live in MA, I would not have had this insurance coverage and would not have received that medical care. As a single woman with no children, I was not eligible for Medicaid. Massachusetts has an entity called the Commonwealth Connector through which one can get insurance. Commonwealth Care is the program with subsidized plans for low or no income people. Commonwealth Choice is an exchange through which one can purchase a policy. I applied for the former and while I was waiting I decided to use money I'd saved to purchase a plan through the Choice piece. It cost me around $300 a month, which seemed reasonable considering how expensive health insurance tends to be. The next month I was approved for Commonwealth Care, which provided a plan with a fully subsidized premium. Yes, there were co-pays but they were similar to the amounts I paid when I got my insurance through work. When I started working part time, I had to pay $77 a month for the premium; I wasn't happy about it but it seems reasonable enough considering the cost of health insurance. Commonwealth Care places you in a tier for type of plan but you do have a choice of several plans. The differences in the tiers seem to mainly involve amount of co-pays. Commonwealth Choice also offers several plans at different price points for your purchasing choice. So far, I did not have any problem of the plans refusing care. With both Choice and Care, they are group plans, not individual plans. There was no regard for health status or pre-existing conditions. Individual plans are pretty much useless because they are way too expensive and give too little coverage--if they'll even take you at all. So I am extremely grateful that Massachusetts passed its health care bill. My main fear is that they will end up cutting back because of the state of government finances these days.