Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006—“An Act Providing Access To Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care”—was signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney on April 12, 2006. The groundbreaking law sought near-universal health care coverage for the residents of Massachusetts by expanding Medicaid, creating a new program of subsidized insurance, enacting changes to the health insurance market, and requiring adults to have health insurance unless an affordable option was not available.

As we mark the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Chapter 58’s enactment, this fact sheet, prepared by Kelly Love and Robert Seifert of the Center for Health Law and Economics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, presents a summary of the law’s effects, as reported in the many studies that have focused on Massachusetts’ reform. This high-level review summarizes the findings in various categories, including insurance coverage, access to care, health care utilization, and affordability for consumers. The authors also developed a full bibliography as a companion to the fact sheet.

This brief describes the Massachusetts House of Representatives fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget proposal for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other subsidized health coverage programs. It is the second in a series of FY2017 budget briefs produced by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) in partnership with Health Management Associates. MMPI will be publishing budget briefs at several stages in the FY2017 budget process as proposals move through the state legislature.

This report, prepared by Manatt Health, lays out a vision for MassHealth long-term services and supports (LTSS) that is person-centered, integrated, sustainable, accountable, and actionable, providing Massachusetts policymakers with a set of options to consider when tackling some of the most intractable challenges facing the Commonwealth’s LTSS system.

The vision and policy areas addressed in the report were identified through the development of a data chart pack and supplemental interviews with consumers, government officials, community and institutional LTSS providers, health plans, and workforce representatives.

Findings from this report were featured at a Foundation event held on May 10, 2016, MassHealth Matters II: Options for Reforming Long-Term Services and Supports. Click here to learn more about the event.

International comparisons of industrialized countries show that those with a higher ratio of social service spending relative to health care spending have better health outcomes. This finding is consistent with decades of research underscoring the importance of social, behavioral, and environmental factors on health outcomes. This report, prepared by a team led by Elizabeth Bradley and Lauren Taylor of the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute, examines the link between state-level spending on health care and social services and health behaviors and outcomes for Massachusetts compared with neighboring states and national averages.

Since 2001, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (the Foundation) has supported community-based organizations, federally qualified health centers, and public agencies through its Connecting Consumers with Care grant program. During the October 2013 through September 2015 grant cycle, 16 organizations across Massachusetts received awards to help low-income and vulnerable consumers enroll in and maintain access to publicly subsidized health insurance coverage, and to help consumers navigate systems of coverage and care with increasing independence. This period coincided with the state’s implementation of key components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This report includes findings from the evaluation of the 2013-2015 Connecting Consumers with Care grant program. The goals of the evaluation were to 1) assess progress made on select outreach and enrollment measures, 2) describe the practices grantees adopted to reach and enroll consumers in health insurance, and 3) characterize efforts and challenges in defining, promoting, and evaluating consumer self-sufficiency. 

This brief describes the Massachusetts Senate fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget proposal for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other subsidized health coverage programs and compares it to the proposal put forth by the House. It is the third in a series of FY2017 budget briefs produced by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) in partnership with Health Management Associates. MMPI will be publishing budget briefs at several stages in the FY2017 budget process as proposals move through the state legislature.

UPDATED (June 2016) chart pack produced by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI), a program of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, in partnership with the Center for Health Law and Economics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. This updated edition includes MassHealth enrollment as of January 2016 and spending from state fiscal year 2015 and is made available in PDF and Power Point formats to facilitate its use in presentations.

The Foundation hosted a webinar with authors Bob Seifert and Carol Gyurina from the Center for Health Law and Economics, University of Massachusetts Medical School to review the updated summary data on MassHealth enrollment and spending on Wednesday, June 29, 2016.

Click here to access the webinar slides.

Massachusetts currently has the lowest uninsurance rate in the nation, and as part of the individual mandate to carry health insurance coverage, the state collects detailed information through its tax filing process about the health insurance status of over four million residents. This report analyzes 2011 and 2012 state tax filer data and provides new information about Massachusetts residents that are prone to remaining uninsured over consecutive years. The findings can help inform stakeholders who want to maintain the state’s low uninsurance rate and who strive to lower the number of individuals without health insurance coverage.

Prepared by Michael Chin of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Audrey Gasteier of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, the analyses in this report represent the first time that tax filer data is being used to quantify the state’s uninsured population over a period of two consecutive calendar years. No other state has such detailed information on its residents’ insurance status.

In recent years, integrating treatment for mental health and substance use disorders (SUD) with primary care has been the subject of extensive research testing a number of different integration models and specific interventions. While many of these approaches have shown promise in demonstrations or clinical trials, the true test of value is in real-world settings where there are competing demands on scarce resources, strict fidelity to intervention protocols is difficult, and patients have multiple urgent needs. This report, prepared by a team led by Robin Clark and Deborah Gurewich of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, describes the process of providing integrated care for patients with SUD at three sites in central Massachusetts: Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, Family Health Center of Worcester, and Community Healthlink. It identifies common practices that improve care coordination for individuals with SUD and concludes with overarching key findings from the study.

This report includes findings from the evaluation of the 2015 Fostering Effective Integration grant program. The goals of the evaluation were to determine 1) how grantees defined “success” for their integration efforts, 2) grantee perceptions of the critical components of effective integration programs, 3) common barriers to integration, and 4) measures grantees used to assess programs.

The third edition provides a detailed description of key components of Chapter 224, highlighting the progress the state has made in its implementation of the law as of September 2016. This tool is designed for policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders who wish to track when and how state leaders have addressed policy issues pertaining to Chapter 224.

This year’s release includes two distinct versions of the tracking tool: 1) An abbreviated version that focuses on progress the state has made since August 2015; and 2) A more comprehensive version which documents progress the state has made in implementing the law since its passage in 2012.

This tracking tool is a living document and will be updated annually. If you have any suggested additions or corrections, please email [email protected].

This budget brief highlights the fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other subsidized health coverage programs. It is the last in a series of FY2017 budget briefs produced by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) in partnership with Health Management Associates.

This chart pack provides updated MassHealth enrollment data as of September 2016.

Despite the near-universal health insurance coverage that the state has maintained for nearly a decade, pockets of high uninsurance remain for both adults and children in communities across Massachusetts. This brief, prepared by the Urban Institute, explores the relationship between community characteristics and the uninsured rate for people of all ages in Massachusetts and highlights the geographic and community context of the remaining uninsured. It also provides data to better target outreach and enrollment activities.

This issue brief describes the key elements of the most recent MassHealth 1115 waiver extension, including the shift to a delivery system centered on Accountable Care Organizations and Community Partners, a Delivery System Reform Incentive Program, the redesigned Safety Net Care Pool, and the expansion of services for treatment of substance use disorders. It concludes with a discussion of implications of the new system for major stakeholder groups.