Massachusetts health overhaul offers lessons for U.S. program

There is major concern among lawmakers crafting healthcare legislation on Capitol Hill that employers will drop private coverage and dump their workers onto federally subsidized health plans. But the experience with the healthcare overhaul in Massachusetts suggests those worries may be overblown: The state has allowed businesses who chose not to cover their employees to get by with just a minimal fee. Yet even without the threat of a serious penalty, employee dumping has not been a problem, said architects of the Massachusetts plan.