Health4all

Every year more Alaskan families lose health insurance and can't afford health care. Every year more families with health insurance cannot afford to use it because of expensive out-of-pocket charges. Every year more Alaskan elders with Medicare are refused treatment by local physicians. And every year health care in Alaska continues to cost 30 percent more than down south. These problems are a reflection of the crisis across the nation. Not surprisingly, the United States ranks last in preventable deaths compared to 14 Western European nations. We have a lot to talk about.


Less expensive health care

Denali KidCare

Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center

Anchorage Project Access

Community Health Resources List

Health policy links

Kaiser Family Foundation

Families USA

Physicians for a National Health Program

Universal Health Care Action Network

Visuals

Larry Weiss

Photographer

Lawrence D. Weiss retired from UAA in 2004 as a research professor in public health. He designed and built the Master of Public Health program at UAA, and has published three books and numerous articles on public health and health policy issues. He completed a post-doctoral degree at Harvard School of Public Health in 1982, and has been in Alaska ever since. His favorite expression is "facts matter." Occasionally he can be found in a local pub drinking beer and eating pizza while engaged in passionate conversation with friends.

Archive

John McCain's Plan for Health Care Reform. - 9/6/2008 7:44 am

Why We Need Fundamental Health Care Reform #4 - 9/3/2008 12:15 pm

Why We Need Fundamental Health Care Reform #3 - 8/29/2008 2:22 pm

Why We Need Fundamental Health Care Reform #2 - 8/25/2008 4:23 pm

Why We Need Fundamental Health Care Reform #1 - 8/22/2008 5:46 pm

Great Olympians but Terrible Health Care - 8/20/2008 2:45 pm

Legislative Health Caucus August 20: Addressing the Energy Crisis for Alaskan Families - 8/15/2008 4:00 pm

More Free and Cheap Health Care And Other Services - 8/14/2008 11:39 am

Mired in the Health Care Morass - Part 2 - 8/12/2008 11:39 am

Prevention in Health Care: Perhaps Overstated But A Good Idea - 8/6/2008 10:55 pm

Stand Up For Health Care - 8/4/2008 9:18 am

Mired in the Health Care Morass - Part 1 - 7/28/2008 5:16 pm

Supersize My Order Please! - 7/25/2008 5:59 pm

Senators Against Bush to Support Health Care for Kids - 7/25/2008 5:53 pm

Free Services for the Homeless - August 1 - 7/19/2008 8:09 am

Two Health Insurance Tricks Exposed - 7/16/2008 6:20 pm

The "Reduced Shakespeare" of the History of American Medicine - 7/14/2008 3:51 pm

Senator Stevens Gets Medicare Reimbursement Increase for Alaska - 7/12/2008 8:00 am

Alaska Guide to Finding Health Insurance Coverage - 7/9/2008 4:04 pm

New Guidelines For Health Care Outside USA - 7/4/2008 8:58 am

Your Medical History Future in the Clouds - 7/4/2008 12:18 am

Rekindling Reform Looks At The Big Health Policy Picture - 6/30/2008 11:11 am

full archive »

Massachusetts Cuts Percentage of Uninsured in Half

Posted by health4all

Posted: June 8, 2008 - 2:54 pm

One year after implementation, Massachusetts new health care law has dramatically reduced its rate of the uninsured by half, increasing coverage in both the public and private sectors for 355,000 previously uninsured residents, a new Urban Institute study published in Health Affairs shows. The state has improved access to coverage but rising costs are a key challenge as the state moves forward.

Before the law went into effect, roughly 600,000 residents lacked coverage. Of those, 355,000 now have coverage, according to the Urban Institute study, reducing the uninsured rate to 7%. 62,000 residents were exempted from the controversial individual mandate contained in the law because they did not earn enough money and 97,000 residents decided to forgo their personal tax exemption, valued at $219, than pay for coverage. This penalty will increase to $912 for individuals who remain uninsured throughout the year.

Key elements of the 2006 reform act included:

  • requiring all residents to have health care coverage
  • imposing a modest fee on employers that do not provide coverage
  • establishing several measures to help residents afford insurance
  • creating the Commonwealth Connector to negotiate and contract with private insurers to bring more affordable insurance options to market for individuals and small businesses
  • combining small group and individual markets, resulting in a projected 15% decrease in individual premiumscreating Commonwealth Care, a program offering subsidized coverage to adults ineligible for Medicaid with incomes up to 300% of poverty, and Commonwealth Choice, a similar program that offers non-subsidized health plans to individuals, documented immigrants, families and small businesses.

The road ahead for Massachusetts will be far from easy. Achieving affordability for all residents remains the chief goal as well as the chief challenge. Getting there will depend on the state's ability to tackle the underlying growth of health care costs, which outstrip wages and the rate of inflation roughly three to one.

[excerpted from Stateside Dispatch, June 5, 2008]


login or register to post comments

Search Jobs | Place an employment ad