On the road to universal coverage: impacts of reform in massachusetts at one year.
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.
Urban Institute in Washington, DC, USA. slong@ui.urban.org
Sharon K
SK
Long
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018166:Health Care Reform; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D019472:Universal Health Insurance / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends*