Massachusetts Health Reform Sustained Improvements, Including Self-Reported Health Status

Written by Jaimie Oh | January 26, 2012

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Tags: Health Affairs | health reform | Massachusetts

Massachusetts healthcare reform continues to show sustained improvements in several areas, including access to healthcare and improved self-reported health statuses, according to research published in Health Affairs.

Researchers found the following trends since the implementation of the law in 2006:

•   Rates of uninsured individuals remain low.
•   Employer-sponsored healthcare insurance is still strong.
•   Healthcare access also remained strong.
•   The incidence of emergency department visits and hospital inpatient stays declined, suggesting "improvements in the effectiveness of healthcare delivery in the state," authors wrote.
•   Self-reported health statuses among residents improved.
•   Two-thirds of Massachusetts adults continue to support the reform law.

Despite these improvements, the researchers also found affordability of health services continues to be a challenge for many individuals. In addition, the proportion of nonsupporters of the law in 2006 (17 percent) increased in 2010 (26.9 percent).