A bill that would require nearly all Massachusetts residents to have health insurance was overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers in a 155-2 vote. This is despite the fact that employer-based insurance cover in the USA is falling.

Half-a-million Massachusetts residents currently have no health insurance cover at all. This new policy will provide cover for approximately 95% of them.

A business that employs more than ten people will have to pay $295 for every uninsured employee.

Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts, has indicated he will sign the bill. Romney is tipped to stand for President of the USA in 2008.

Low cost, state-subsidized insurance policies (with scaled back benefits) will be offered by insurance companies.

It is estimated that nearly 50 million people in the USA have no health insurance cover at all. As insurance premiums become more expensive, rising in price way over the national inflation rate, the number of uninsured people in the USA is expected to continue to grow.

In Massachusetts, even people at the bottom end of the earnings scale may have no-cost plans. Their premiums would be taken care of by the state. Those who can afford health insurance, but do not have one, will face penalties after July 2007.

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