Experts look at Massachusetts as the canary in the coal mine for healthcare reform

Monday, 18 July 2011 16:00

News - Employee Health Benefits

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In 2006, the Massachusetts state legislature enacted healthcare reform which mandated that all residents have health insurance, much like the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) aims to do for all Americans.

As a result, experts at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health researched how the legislation has thus far affected healthcare coverage in the state as a possible way to gauge if PPACA may do the same for the country as a whole.

The scientists found that since the 2006 reform, the rate of insured individuals has risen by 7.6 percent. Additionally, 6.6 percent more Massachusetts residents have primary care physicians, and 4.8 percent fewer are foregoing needed care, compared to rates before the healthcare reform.

However, authors of the study noted that the national outcome may not mirror that of Massachusetts given Republican opposition to PPACA, making reform implementation more difficult.

Impending reform may also have implications for organizations and their employee health benefit policies, as they are faced with "play or pay" mandates which may require them to pay penalties if they choose to not offer healthcare benefits.