In April 2006, Massachusetts enacted a landmark health reform law, known as “Chapter 58,” to improve access to affordable health insurance for nearly all residents. The Foundation served as a catalyst for the law by funding the "Roadmap to Coverage" initiative. Working with The Urban Institute, the Foundation published comprehensive, objective research to inform the debate about how to best provide health coverage for the uninsured and by convening key stakeholders around these issues. The Foundation continues to monitor the implementation of health reform through participant and provider surveys, reporting, and policy analysis.

Related Publications

• Massachusetts Health Reform Evaluation and Monitoring Projects
  February 16, 2007
  A Foundation-compiled summary of the work being done by key stakeholders and researchers around the implementation and monitoring of the Massachusetts health reform law.
• Executive Summary of Getting Ready for Reform: Insurance Coverage and Access to and Use of Care in Massachusetts in Fall 2006
  November 01, 2006
  Executive Summary of report providing snapshot of Massachusetts’s adult population prior to the implementation of the 2006 health reform legislation in the state.
• The Massachusetts Health Reform Law: Public Opinion and Perception
  November 01, 2006
  A report on a 2006 public opinion survey asking Massachusetts residents about the 2006 health reform law.
• Getting Ready for Reform: Insurance Coverage and Access to and Use of Care in Massachusetts in Fall 2006
  November 01, 2006
  This report provides a snapshot of Massachusetts’s adult population prior to the implementation of the 2006 health reform legislation in the state. Using survey responses obtained in Fall 2006 as the Bay State began implementing the law, this report serves as the baseline for an on-going study of the effects of the reform efforts on Massachusetts’ working-aged adult population.
• The Massachusetts Health Reform Law: Public Perception and Opinion Chartpack
  October 01, 2006
  A slide presentation of the results of an August and September, 2006 public opinion survey of Masschusetts residents of the health care system.
• Setting a Standard of Affordability for Health Insurance Coverage in Massachusetts
  August 01, 2006
  An examination of how to define affordability relative to the enforcement of the individual mandate requirement of the 2006 health reform law.
• Ensuring the Success of Massachusetts Health Care Reform: What is needed for front line staff?
  July 05, 2006
  This document summarizes the results of Community Partners’s survey of grantees of the Foundation's Health Access program about what will be needed for frontline workers to ensure the success of the Massachusetts health reform law.
• Massachusetts Health Care Reform Bill Summary
  July 01, 2006
  A 10-page summary of Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, otherwise known as the Massachusetts Health Reform Law.
• Getting Care But Paying the Price: How Medical Debt Leaves Many in Massachusetts Facing Tough Choices
  February 01, 2004
  An examination of the issue of medical debt among Massachusetts residents. This report was written before the passage and implementation of the 2006 health reform law.
• The Uninsured in Massachusetts: An Opportunity for Leadership
  October 01, 2003
  Report on 2003 public opinion survey finds that most people in the Commonwealth strongly believe that everyone in the state should be able to get the health care they need and are supportive of a number of proposals to ensure this. However, the survey also finds numerous challenges to significant action at the state level and points to the need for strong leadership on this issue.
• Health Coverage in Massachusetts: Far to Go, Farther to Fall
  September 01, 2002
  Highlights of the state’s experience in health reform with descriptions of the challenges ahead in passing comprehensive health reform legislation.
• MassHealth: Dispelling Myths and Preserving Progress
  June 05, 2002
  An analysis of the factors and forces that determine program spending, compares trends in the MassHealth program to those of Medicaid programs in other high-income states, and analyzes a number of options that have been, or could be, suggested to reduce the rate of increase in MassHealth spending and/or reduce the impact of MassHealth on the state budget.