Earlier today, both houses of the Massachusetts legislature passed groundbreaking health reform legislation that will guarantee affordable health insurance coverage for 95 percent of the state’s approximately 550,000 uninsured citizens within three years. The measure now goes to the desk of Governor Mitt Romney for his signature or veto.
“If the Governor signs this bill, it would place Massachusetts at or near the top of the class in providing affordable coverage for the uninsured,” said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. “Today’s compromise sets a number of important precedents for Massachusetts residents that are truly historic from a national perspective.”
The Massachusetts Health Reform Package (The Health Care Access and Affordability Conference Committee Agreement) will do the following:
* For Children: Expands the MassHealth public program to cover children in families with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($60,000 for a family of four).
* For Adults: Creates a program of affordable, private health insurance for individuals and small businesses that includes premium subsidies and out-of-pocket cost limits for lower-income workers.
* New “Responsibility Precedents”: Requires employers with 11 or more employees to provide health insurance coverage or pay the state for every uninsured worker ($295 per worker plus a surcharge). The bill also establishes a concurrent individual responsibility to purchase insurance as long as it is reasonably affordable.
“In the end, this bill offers a laudable mixture of public and private solutions to achieve the goal of affordable health care coverage for workers and small businesses,” Pollack continued.
Earlier this year, Families USA released a comprehensive analysis of the House-passed version of this bill and found that it would result in a net benefit to the state’s business community.
