Lessons from Massachusetts Health Reform for Other States

Health Reform Toolkit Series: Resources from the Massachusetts Experience

Series of toolkits designed to share examples, templates, experiences, and lessons learned from Massachusetts’ implementation of health reform to help states plan, build, and implement elements of the ACA.  In collaboration with the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority and with partial support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (April 2011)

Lessons from the Implementation of Massachusetts Health Reform

BCBS of Massachusetts Foundation report by Alan G. Raymond presenting an overview of key lessons from Massachusetts that could be relevant to stakeholders working to implement health reform in other states and nationally. (March 2011)

National Reform: What Can We Learn From Evaluations of Massachusetts

Published as part of the State Health Access Reform Evaluation, this brief by Sharon Long, Karen Stockley, and Heather Dahlen provides reports results on the impact of Massachusetts health reform by reviewing current published literature. The brief also provides lessons from Massachusetts for national health reform. (June 2011)

Massachusetts Points The Way To Successful Health Care Reform 

Jonathan Gruber discusses the results of health reform in Massachusetts including how market reforms in Massachusetts can guide national health reform efforts. Gruber also highlights a few of ways in which Massachusetts' reform may be a good and bad predictor of how national reform may succeed. (Winter 2011)

The Secrets of Massachusetts' Success: Why 97 Percent of State Residents Have Health Coverage 

State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE)/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report by Stan Dorn, Ian Hill, and Sara Hogan, analyzing how the enrollment process and community outreach facilitated the rapid growth in state-subsidized coverage programs. (November 2009)

Massachusetts Health Reform in 2008: Who are the Remaining Uninsured Adults? 

State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE)/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report by Sharon Long, Lokendra Phadera, and Victoria Lynch on the demographic, economic, social, and geographic characteristics of Massachusetts adults who remain uninsured despite health reform. (August 2010)

Health Insurance Exchanges and the Affordable Care Act: Key Policy Issues 

Commonwealth Fund report by Timothy Jost on factors that could determine the success or failure of health insurance exchanges under national reform, with a focus on the Massachusetts Health Connector. (July 2010)

From Massachusetts To 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Aboard The Health Reform Express

Kativa Patel and John McDonough discuss the differences and similarities between Massachusetts health reform and national health reform. They also report on many of the lessons national health reform can learn from the passage and implementation of Massachusetts’ health reform (abstract only). (June 2010)

Lessons From the Health Care Rollout 

Boston Globe opinion column (archived) on Massachusetts health reform implementation by Jon Kingsdale, former executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector. (May 3, 2010)

Exchanges: Top Ten Priorities for Consumer Advocates 

Community Catalyst paper on consumer advocates’ priorities for implementing state health insurance exchanges. (November 2010)

Family Planning Centers Meet Health Care Reform: Lessons From Massachusetts

Rachel Benson Gold discusses the impact health reform has had on community health centers, particularly those that provide family planning services. After the implementation of health reform, many CHCs throughout Massachusetts saw in increase in patients and there is still a critical role for CHCs to provide family planning as many populations may feel more comfortable obtaining these services from health providers they are familiar with. (Summer 2009)