National Reform in MA

Implementing the Affordable Care Act in Massachusetts: Changes in Subsidized Coverage Programs

In March 2010, President Obama signed The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which included significant changes impacting health insurance coverage across the United States. Although many elements of the ACA were based on Massachusetts’ health insurance reform, there were still many decisions and activities that Massachusetts needed to address in order to comply with the new federal Medicaid and health insurance marketplace requirements, most of which were required to be effective as of January 2014.

Massachusetts Medicaid 50th Anniversary Timeline

Medicaid, a federal-state partnership program, has advanced a variety of both federal and state health coverage reform goals over the last 50 years. There is perhaps no state in which Medicaid has played a more important role in the evolution of how health care is delivered and paid for than Massachusetts. This interactive timeline reflects some of the key moments in our history where Medicaid served to expand coverage for low-income and vulnerable people in the Commonwealth.

Coverage Options for Massachusetts: Leveraging the Affordable Care Act

In this issue brief, Patricia Boozang, Deborah Bachrach and Hailey Davis of Manatt Health Solutions, review the coverage and delivery system challenges that Massachusetts could address through sections 1331 (the Basic Health Program) and 1332 (Waivers for State Innovation) of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Investing in Consumer Health Advocacy through Operating Support, Strengthening the Voice for Access: 2011-2013

This report demonstrates how a general-operating-funds approach to grantmaking can forge stronger and more effective partnerships between the philanthropy and consumer health advocacy communities. It includes examples of the positive impact this approach has had on access to health care in Massachusetts and highlights some of the activities and achievements of 2011-2013 Strengthening the Voice for Access grantee organizations.

Enrollment Volatility in MassHealth: A Progress Report

This report, by Robert Seifert and Amanda Littell-Clark of the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Health Law and Economics, summarizes recent efforts by the Massachusetts Medicaid program (“MassHealth”) to address enrollment volatility and provides recommendations to mitigate remaining challenges by leveraging the opportunities presented with the transition to ACA-compliant eligibility systems and programs.

Affordable Care Act Tracking Tool

Chart of state decisions related to implementation of the federal health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Originally created by the Center for Health Law & Economics, UMASS Medical School, and Health Care For All; updated by the BCBSMA Foundation. This document was last updated in February 2013.

Re-Forming Reform: What the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Means for Massachusetts

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.