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BOSTON—Sen. Edward M. Kennedy spoke at a signing ceremony for a health care reform bill for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at Faneuil Hall. The bill put the state on the road to providing health insurance for all Massachusetts residents. Health care was a lifelong mission for Kennedy, who died in 2009. Photo: © Brian Snyder/Reuters/Corbis
Massachusetts: 97 Percent Have Health Insurance by Mikel Chavers
Three years after Massachusetts health care reform, 97 percent of the state’s residents now have health insurance—the highest in the nation, according to the latest study conducted by the Massachusetts legislature in 2009. “We noticed that access to health insurance doesn’t guarantee access to affordable primary care,” said Sen. Richard Moore, chair of the Health Care Financing Committee. As a result, Moore and Senate President Therese Murray sponsored legislation to expand the University of Massachusetts Medical School class for students committed to primary care. The legislation provided financial aid for those who agree to practice in primary care and expand health information technology. But it doesn’t stop there, Moore said. “We also commissioned a study of payment reform to transition from fee for service to global payments. Implementing these study recommendations will become Health Reform III once we draft the bill,” he said. That legislation is slated for the 2010 session. The state’s reform also didn’t go without its legal challenges. In one case, a Massachusetts resident didn’t believe the state should require him to have health insurance. That court case, George Fountas v. Navjeet K. Bal in her capacity as The Department of Revenue of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was originally filed in 2008 but Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Kathe Tuttman dismissed the case in favor of the state in February 2009, according to court records obtained by Capitol Ideas. Fountas is appealing the case against the state.
» All residents must purchase health insurance. » All employers with 11 or more employees must provide employee health insurance coverage or contribute up to $295 a year per employee. » The Medicaid program was expanded to cover more people. » Another subsidized health insurance program for the poor was created. » The state created a health insurance exchange for small businesses and individuals to purchase health insurance.
JAN./FEB. 2010
» People can purchase individual policies through a merged individual and smallgroup insurance market.
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—Massachusetts Sen. Richard Moore chair of the Health Care Financing Committee
Under the Massachusetts reforms:
CAPITOL IDEAS
“Health care reform in Massachusetts was about much more than expanding access to health insurance. It also addressed improving health care quality and containing costs.”
Massachusetts Health Care Reform Basics
