State Expansions: Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Health Reform of 2006 requires everyone in the state obtain health insurance—if affordable coverage is available. In order to increase access to health coverage, the state expanded MassHealth (the state's combined Medicaid and CHIP program), introduced private insurance subsidies, and created an agency to help uninsured people find affordable coverage.

For an in depth look at the Massachusetts expansion, see Massachusetts Health Reform of 2006. (Families USA, August 2007)

For implementation updates, see A Healthy Blog from Health Care for All.

Massachusetts Expansion Resources

• Top Ten Myths about Massachusetts Health Reform (Massachusetts Connector Board, August 25, 2009)
• Estimates from the 2008 Massachusetts Health Insurance Insurance Survey (The Urban Institute, December 18, 2008)
• How Have Employers Responded to Health Reform in Massachusetts? Employees' Views on the End of One Year (The Commonwealth Fund, October 28, 2008)
• Who Gained the Most under Health Reform in Massachusetts? (The Urban Institute, October 2008)
• The Impact of Health Reform on Underinsurance in Massachusetts: Do the Insured Have Adequate Protection? (The Urban Institute, October 2008)
• Massachusetts Health Reform: What's the Real Story? (Health Care for All and Community Catalyst, August 2008)
• Confronting Disparities while Reforming Health Care: A Look at Massachusetts (Families USA, June 2007)
• Proposed Health Reform in Massachusetts: Net Gain for the Business Community (Families USA, January 2006)
• Revisiting Massachusetts Health Reform: 18 Months Later (Community Catalyst, December 2007)
• Getting Ready for Reform (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and The Urban Institute, August 2007)  
• Massachusetts Health Reform: Employers, Low-Wage Workers and Universal Coverage (Center for Studying Health System Change, July 2007)
• Affordable Health Care for All: What Does Affordability Really Mean? (Community Catalyst, April 2007)
• Massachusetts Health Reform: What it Does; How it Was Done; Challenges Ahead (Community Catalyst, April 2006)
• Commonwealth Connector
• Health Care for All
• ACT!! Affordable Care Today
• Disparities Action Network (DAN) 

For general resources on state expansions, see Other Resources.

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