A new study has examined the effectiveness of Massachusetts’ new statewide health care program and found that, overall, the program was meeting its specified goals. Currently, approximately 95% of Massachusetts taxpayers have health insurance, a higher percentage than any other state in the nation.
Massachusetts instigated the new statewide health care plan in 2006, and by law all Massachusetts citizens were required to purchase health insurance by July of 2007, excepting only those living below the poverty level or otherwise unable to afford coverage.
The study found that in 2007, approximately 2% of Massachusetts taxpayers (or 62,000 people) did not earn enough to be required to purchase health care. Another 3% were fined by the state for failing to purchase health insurance without obtaining a hardship waiver.
The program has so far been a great success. The rate of uninsured citizens dropped by well over 50% after the new health-care law was passed. Additionally, the study found that residents are paying less in so-called “out-of-pocket” health care expenses, and noted that low income adults in particular are more likely to get regular checkups under the new program.
Although Massachusetts universal health care has the greatest effect on the poor, the research shows that the new law is also having a positive effect on wealthier citizens. Even among families earning 200,000 or more annually, there was a small decline in the number of uninsured individuals.
For the poorest Massachusetts citizens who cannot afford to purchase health insurance, a new subsidized program has been created to help ensure that everyone gets covered. While the goal of covering 100% of Massachusetts citizens has not been reached yet, the study’s authors concluded that it was “a very positive first year” for the ambitious program.
While California and other states are considering similar programs, both of the Democratic nominees for president, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, are pushing for a national universal health care program, similar to the one already in place in Massachusetts.
The positive impact of the Massachusetts program during its first year may help to turn the nation’s attention to the importance of universal health care, and perhaps more importantly, prove that universal health care can be provided efficiently and economically, without jeopardizing the quality of services.
European nations, and even our Canadian neighbors, have had universal health care programs in place for decades. And many of these programs, particularly those of the Scandinavian countries, offer the highest quality of healthcare, and very reasonable out-of-pocket co-payments to citizens.
The United States is finally poised to join the rest of the industrialized world in creating a “more perfect union,” where every individual is guaranteed access to health care– and progressive states like Massachusetts are leading the way.
When you’re ill, you need help.
Period.
Comment by Claude Gelinas — July 4, 2008 @ 12:08 am