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On The Road To Universal Coverage: Impacts Of Reform In Massachusetts At One Year

¹ Sharon Long is a principal research associate at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

In April 2006, Massachusetts passed legislation intended to move the state to near-universal coverage within three years and, in conjunction with that expansion, to improve access to affordable, high-quality health care. In roughly the first year under reform, uninsurance among working-age adults was reduced by almost half among those surveyed, dropping from 13 percent in fall 2006 to 7 percent in fall 2007. At the same time, access to care improved, and the share of adults with high out-of-pocket costs and problems paying medical bills dropped. Despite higher-than-anticipated costs, most residents of the state continued to support reform. [Health Affairs 27, no. 4 (2008): w270-w284 (published online 3 June 2008; 10.1377/hlthaff.27.4.w270)]

Key Words: Access To Care, Business Of Health, Consumer Issues, Health Reform, Insurance Coverage, State/Local Issues, Insurance Market

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