On September 1, the Urban Institute released an updated report which found that, as of Fall 2008, Massachusetts’ health care reform had continued to achieve its goal of near-universal health care coverage while also maintaining high program approval in spite of rising costs. State policymakers are now turning to the second phase of their health care reform, reducing health care costs. 

From the executive summary:

Massachusetts’ ambitious 2006 health reform initiative continues to be a proving ground for many of the elements being debated in national health reform proposals. Early evidence from Fall 2007 showed substantial gains in coverage under health reform in the state; however, those estimates predate the implementation of some important elements of Massachusetts’ initiative. Most notably, the penalty for failing to comply with the individual mandate, which requires that adults who have access to affordable coverage obtain insurance, was implemented in 2008 based on coverage as of December 31, 2007. The penalty in 2008 was relatively small, with a larger penalty taking effect in 2009 based on coverage for all of 2008. Other important changes between 2007 and 2008 include increases in premiums and cost-sharing under CommCare (the new subsidized insurance program) and CommChoice (the new insurance purchasing arrangement), along with increases in the “affordability schedule” that determines the amount an individual is expected to be able to pay for health insurance under the individual mandate. This policy brief provides an update of the impacts of health reform on insurance coverage in Massachusetts as of Fall 2008 for working-age adults, the primary target population of the state’s reform initiative. It also provides an update on support for health reform in the state. Estimates of the impacts of health reform on access to and affordability of health care in the state as of Fall 2008 are reported in a companion paper.

The Urban Institute. (2009). Massachusetts health reform survey: An update on insurance coverage and support for reform as of fall 2008. Longley, S.K. and Stockley, K.