Way back when former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney signed a universal health care bill that would mandate coverage for all residents, there was great debate if it would work.
For the most part, that debate is still going strong.
There are critics of the law that maintain the costs of the program are too high and spreading health care too thin.
Proponents point to the fact that more Massachusetts residents than ever have health insurance.
Now universal health care’s advocates have more evidence things are working in Massachusetts. The Urban Institute today published a comprehensive study showing how the law is affecting the state’s health care system, reported The Boston Globe.
The numbers from the study indicate that the number of the uninsured has been reduced by almost half, more residents are getting the care they need, and they’re spending less out-of-pocket for care.
Here are the exact numbers:
In the fall of 2006, 13 percent of Massachusetts residents had no coverage. In one year, the fall of 2007, that number dropped to 7.1 percent.
According the Urban Institute’s numbers, access to health care has also expanded — about 88.7 percent of residents had a “usual source of care ” in 2007 compared with 86.5 percent in 2006.
Massachusetts residents are spending less on their health care, as well. People paying more than $500 out-of-pocket on medical expenses dropped to 56.6 percent of the population from 62 percent over the course of the year.
Fewer people are also having trouble with their medical bills, wrote the Globe article.
One significant finding was that the number of residents with private coverage actually increased — 69.3 percent had coverage with an employer in 2007, up from 66.6 percent in 2006, and 23.6 percent had individual health insurance, a jump from 20.4 percent.
“It’s not just the gain in insurance coverage, but access to care and affordability of health care for individuals that has improved with insurance coverage. This is a broader change than just expanding coverage, ” said Sharon K. Long, who authored the Urban Institute’s study.
So what are the downsides of the law?
The costs were much higher than the state expected for funding Commonwealth Care, the subsidized health plan for low income residents, by about $150 million. Enrollment for the program will most likely continue going up, further increasing the price tag.
Premiums had to be increased for residents with Commonwealth coverage to help cover the unexpectedly high costs.
Another problem for Massachusetts is the shortage of primary care doctors.
Still, the law is helping hundreds of thousands get the health insurance and access to care they need.
“Again and again we find formerly uninsured people who were ignoring serious medical needs now have coverage and now say the program is literally saving their lives, ” said researcher Brian Rosman, from Health Care For All.