Is It Good News for Massachusetts- Universal Health Care?

By Ethan Calvin


There's been a lot of debate of whether or not the health insurance mandate in Massachusetts is doing any good. Supporters of the law point to numbers, like those reported by the Boston Globe, that show a heavy increase of residents who have health insurance plans.

The Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy reports that more than two thirds of state residents that did not have insurance in 2006 now have it. The article from the Globe says that Massachusetts is saving millions of dollars because of the decrease in emergency room visits.

Brian Rosman, research director for Health Care for All says, "This shows a cultural shift in public attitude, where people understand that as a community, by everyone getting health insurance, we are improving the health of everybody."

But critics of mandate laws say it significantly raises insurance premiums, reduces health care access, and relies on inefficient government bureaucracies to run health care. Critics also argue that such laws make it more attractive for residents to hop on government coverage, rather than find a private health plan.

Different results were shown on the report. Upwards of half of newly insured state residents received coverage through their employers or got an individual plan on their own. Commonwealth Care, the state subsidized health care plan, has costs that are rising. Massachusetts has also asked for $11 million in hopes of financing the plan through the next three years.

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