Massachusetts Health Insurance Law Captures Attention Of Other States

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 30 Aug 2007 - 8:00 PST

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The Massachusetts health insurance law is "attracting intense scrutiny" from other states that are considering ways to reduce the number of uninsured residents, Copley/San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Massachusetts officials and health care experts say the law "has a good chance" of achieving its goal of creating universal health coverage "by using both carrots and sticks." More than 150,000 previously uninsured residents have obtained coverage in the program's first year.

However, according to Copley/Union-Tribune, it is "less clear" whether the plan would work in other states, such as California, "where money is scarce and the uninsured make up a larger share of the population." In addition, while state residents and businesses generally support the program in its current form, the state will have to find ways to deal with increasing health care costs.

Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the law's authors, said, "Clearly, what's going to have to happen in the long run is more money will have to be injected in the program. We don't have to in the next year or two, but if you look five or 10 years down the road, if this program is going to continue to exist, it's going to take more money to keep it going" (Lewis, Copley/San Diego Union-Tribune, 8/25).

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