Massachusetts is a nice lab to see the effects of an Obama health plan. The proposals are fairly similar, with the exception that Obama does not mandate individuals to obtain insurance.

One consequence is a marked rise in emergency care, due to lack of primary care access.

Now a second shows that people still can’t afford health care, despite 97 percent of the state being covered with some sort of insurance:

Although far more Massachusetts residents have health insurance coverage than residents nationwide, a significant portion of Bay Staters are still struggling to pay for needed healthcare, a new survey shows.

Some are postponing treatments, and others are not filling prescriptions, because of high costs or an inability to pay bills from earlier procedures, according to the survey by The Boston Globe and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.

Promising universal coverage scores easy political points, and helps one get elected, but it really does nothing to solve our health care woes.