Mass. health insurance law: More coverage, more expensive

January 26, 2012|By Liz Kowalczyk

The state’s landmark health insurance law, passed in 2006, significantly increased the number of residents ages 19 to 64 with coverage -- now at 94.2 percent. A survey released today found that it also is starting to produce results by keeping patient’s healthier and out of emergency rooms and hospitals.

Unfortunately, as many probably suspect, it has done little to control costs.

“There was a significant increase in premium costs paid by workers, reflecting Massachusetts decision to put off efforts to address lowering health care costs in the 2006 legislation,’’ according Health Affairs, the journal that published an article based on the survey on its website today.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts Foundation commissioned the 2010 telephone survey of 3,000 nonelderly adults.

“This comprehensive assessment of health reform shows that the Massachusetts model for expanding access to coverage and needed care has held up well during some of the worst economic conditions in decades,” said Sarah Iselin,cq the foundation’s president. “It also shows that there’s an urgent need for the state’s health care community to address rising costs with the same level of commitment, creativity, and unified action.”

Between fall 2006 and fall 2010, emergency department use fell 3.8 percent overall, and the use of emergency departments for non-emergency conditions also dropped 3.8 percent.

At the same time, health care costs were an important issue for many families in Massachusetts in fall 2010. About half adults surveyed reported their family was spending more on health care in 2010 than in the prior year and a quarter were not confident in their ability to afford care in the coming year, the survey found.