Full text of Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, as subsequently amended and revised, with links to relevant agencies, reports, and regulations.  

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According to this new report, implementation of national health reform will direct billions of new federal dollars into the Massachusetts health care system, expand public coverage to reach more of the state's residents, and has the potential to help the state reach its cost containment and quality of care goals. Written by the Center for Health Law and Economics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, this report is the most comprehensive assessment to date of how the national reform law intersects with the Commonwealth's own health reforms.

This comprehensive chartbook describes key findings from the latest Urban Institute report analyzing the impact of the Massachusetts health reform. Data is based on the fall 2009 Massachusetts Heath Reform Survey.

This report is the latest in a series by the Urban Institute analyzing the impact of the Massachusetts health reform law. Findings show that despite the state's economic recession Massachusetts has maintained record low levels of uninsured and access to needed health care has improved. Additionally, disparities in coverage and care have been eliminated or narrowed. Solid public support for the health reform law continues. This report is based on the 2009 Massachusetts Health Reform Survey (MHRS), which has tracked the impact of the law annually since 2006.

This policy brief based on data from the 2009 Massachusetts Health Reform Survey shows that women have achieved significant gains in insurance coverage and in access and use of health care since health reform was implemented in Massachusetts. The gains were particularly strong for subgroups of women who had lower levels of coverage and poorer access prior to reform, including lower-income women, women of minority race/ethnicity, and women without dependent children.

This report, written in conjunction with senior staff at the Center for Health Law and Economics, examines the phenomenon of enrollees cycling on and off state health insurance programs, specifically MassHealth and Commonwealth Care.

In August 2009, legal immigrants who have been in the United State for fewer than five years lost their eligibility for health insurance coverage under Commonwealth Care. They now receive coverage under the Bridge Program. In December, the BCBSMA Foundation brought together grantees, government officials, advocates, and health insurers for an informal discussion about how and why these changes were made, and how to improve coverage for legal immigrants.

Jennifer Chow, the Grantmaking Program Manager for the BCBSMA Foundation, participated in the Massachusetts Institute of Community Health Leadership in 2006 and 2007, when she was the Outreach and Enrollment Manager for Health Care for All. In this video, she talks about the impact the program has had on her work and how she interacts with grantees.

Joe Ianelli, the Financial Services Manager for Massachusetts General Hospital, talks about what he learned as a student of the Massachusetts Institute for Community Health Leadership.

December 18, 2009 Incoming members of the 2007 class of the Massachusetts Institute of Community Health Leadership talk about what they expect from the program. This video should be watched before Growing A Community, which features the same members talking about their experiences after their completion of the program.

December 18, 2009 Members of the 2007 class of the Massachusetts Institute of Community Health Leadership talk about the community created over the nine months of the program. This video should be watched after Anticipating the Road Ahead, which features the same members talking about their expectations for the program.

December 17, 2009 A client in recovery and an employee of Steppingstone Inc., a past grantee in the Connecting Consumers with Care program area, talk about the organization's innovative Project ACCTION program for substance abusers.

December 18, 2009 Lindsey Tucker, the Health Care Policy Manager for Health Care for All, and a graduate of the 2008-2009 Massachusetts Institute for Community Health Leadership, talks about how the program impacted her work, and her colleagues also assess how the program influenced Lindsey.

MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid program, could play a leading role in implementing dramatic changes to the health care payment system. This report outlines how so-called global payments could be used in MassHealth, which provides insurance coverage to roughly 1.2 million people in the state. Global payments have been recommended by both the Special Commission on Health System Payment and the Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council as a means of reigning in health care cost increases and improving care coordination.

On November 13, 2009, MMPI partnered with the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum and Community Catalyst to sponsor a forum exploring efforts in Massachusetts to improve quality and control Medicaid prescription drug costs. At the forum, an issue brief was released that detailed implementation of a preferred drug list in the MassHealth program. In addition, speakers talked about the array of tools available to states to improve prescribing and reduce cost growth.

Click here to see the agenda and other materials from the meeting.