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The law also mandated tobacco cessation coverage for all Massachusetts residents under the government-run Medicaid health insurance program.
Significant Improvement in Coverage for Hispanics
Between 2006 and 2008, the number of uninsured working-age adults in Massachusetts was reduced by nearly 70 percent. In contrast, the proportion of adults in the United States with health insurance declined from 2007 to 2008, according to U.S. Census data.
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Report Analyzes Massachusetts' Health Reform
Understanding the Health Care Reform Debate
The increase in health insurance coverage in Massachusetts is considered a success. “Anything over 95 percent is an example that coverage is verging toward universal,” said study co-author Bruce Cohen, PhD, Director of the Bureau of Health Information, Statistics, Research and Evaluation (BHISRE) at MDPH.
Nearly universal health care coverage in Massachusetts has helped increase the number of insured residents to 97 percent, according to a study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). However [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Hispanics and other underserved populations continue to have the lowest percentage of coverage despite showing the largest increases since the state enacted health care legislation in 2006. The study was published in the 12 March 2010 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Coverage after the law increased to 98.4 percent for Asians, 97.3 percent for whites, 92.7 percent for blacks and 89 percent for Hispanics.
“Clearly [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], health care reform in Massachusetts is reaching those who have the highest uninsured rates,” said Dr. Cohen.
Massachusetts now has the lowest rate of uninsured persons in the United States. From 2005 to 2008, health insurance coverage increased from 89 percent to 97 percent among all Massachusetts residents, including an estimated 300,000 newly insured persons aged 18-64 years.
Health Care Legislation in Massachusetts
The proportion of residents who said they lacked health insurance was approximately cut in half, and eight percent of publicly insured residents were obtaining health insurance through the state's new Commonwealth Care program. The percentage of insured residents with public health insurance (including those aged 18-64 years who were eligible for Medicare) increased 29.7 percent, from 14.8 percent to 19.2 percent.
The 14.2 percent increase in health care coverage observed in Hispanics was attributed to their lower rate of coverage before the law was enacted: 77.9 percent, compared to 88.2 percent of blacks, 90.5 percent of Asian
Massachusetts enacted legislation to provide health care coverage to all state residents in April 2006. One key component of the law required all Massachusetts residents to purchase health insurance by July 2007, either through private insurers or Commonwealth Care, a new state-subsidized health insurance program. Incentives for residents to obtain health insurance coverage include tax penalties for failing to obtain an insurance plan.
The New Law Increased Health Insurance Coverage
“MDPH is using these results to target outreach more precisely to increase health insurance enrollment and health care access among state residents [link widoczny dla zalogowanych],” the study noted.
The study compared the 18-month periods before and after the law was implemented. After implementation, health insurance coverage statewide increased by 5.5 percent, from 91.3 percent to 96.3 percent. The largest increases were observed among Hispanics (14.2 percent), persons with less than a high school diploma (12 percent) and persons with annual household incomes under $25,000 (11.9 percent).