Insurance law's winners, losers

WITHOUT KNOWING me, Alice Dembner perfectly profiled my situation in her article "Older residents feel insurance law pinch" (Page A1, Aug. 17). Those of us who are 50 to 64 years old and in the lower-middle-income category are indeed faced with a variety of unacceptable options.

From the moment last spring when the Legislature passed legislation mandating affordable health coverage for all, I began calling my representatives to find out how the new law would help me. More than a year later, I finally discovered that while it provides admirably for those earning less than 300 percent of the poverty level, it is a disaster for those of us earning slightly over that figure.

Given my age (61) and area of residence (Cape Cod), if I want to keep my current level of insurance, I would pay more for premiums through the Health Connector than I am paying now. Almost 20 percent of my $35,000 annual income now goes for health insurance. That's a burden that becomes more burdensome every year. Who would have thought that I would be looking forward to turning 65 and qualifying for Medicare?

BETSY SMITH
Brewster

MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH insurance laws and regulations offer enormous protection to older citizens looking to purchase health insurance. The decade-old Massachusetts policy of restricting the price gap between old and young to a 2:1 ratio is a far cry from states that allow insurers not only to charge older people whatever they want but to charge them more based on their medical history or, even worse, to refuse to insure them at all.

A New York Times story in March described the terrifying predicament faced by a 50-year-old North Carolina cancer victim who could not find health insurance on her own for less than $27,000 per year. Profiteering at the expense of the older and more frail is not tolerated here.

Prior to the availability of the Health Connector's unsubsidized plans this spring, the monthly premium for the 60-year-old woman cited in the Globe story would have been $593 with a $5,000 deductible and no prescription drug coverage. Her current $352 option has prescription drug coverage and a $2,000 deductible.

That's remarkable progress, but we are the first to recognize that there is still considerable work to be done if insurance is going to be affordable for everyone.

JON KINGSDALE
Executive director
Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority
Boston