The study was conducted by Boston-based Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute’s Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Researchers studied more than 1,400 patients with high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure, and who had been uninsured for three years prior to Massachusetts’ 2006 health reform.
According to the study, having access to care in and of itself did not improve the health outcomes of the patients with chronic diseases. For instance, patients with poorly controlled diseases who were uninsured before Massachusetts’s health reform and received insurance in the first year after the reform showed little to no improvement in their health.
A lack of focus on preventative care and patient lifestyles may have impacted the results of the study, according to the report.
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