In 2003, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation founded a multi-year policy initiative to study the options for expanding coverage to the uninsured in Massachusetts. The research and policy analysis was conducted by The Urban Institute, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit, nonpartisan policy research organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. John Holahan, Ph.D., and Alan Weil, J.D., were the co-principal investigators of the project.

With the release of each Roadmap report, the Foundation convened health care, business, labor, and government leaders to examine and discuss the ideas presented.

November 16, 2004
Roadmap to Coverage: A Summit on Access, at the JFK Library and Museum

An analysis of the cost of medical care for the uninsured in Massachusetts

The first report of the Roadmap initiative was released at a summit featuring a luncheon address by Senate President Robert Travaglini. The Urban Institute report analyzed what is currently spent on care for the uninsured, who pays for it, and what full coverage would add to medical spending.

June 21, 2005
Roadmap to Coverage: A Summit on Access, at the JFK Library and Museum

An examination of options for expanding coverage

The Foundation convened Governor Romney, Governor Baldacci of Maine, and health care leaders from other states to review and discuss the choices and tradeoffs associated with different coverage expansion options.

October 7, 2005
Roadmap to Coverage: Reaching Common Ground, at the JFK Library and Museum

Implementing the Roadmap To Coverage

The Foundation convened more than 350 leaders from the health care, business, labor and advocacy communities to continue the discussion about expanding health care coverage in Massachusetts. This summit featured presentations from John Holahan of the Urban Institute and Alan Weil of the National Academy for State Health Policy, a key note address by Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Salvatore F. DiMasi, and a town hall meeting moderated by Chet Curtis of New England Cable News.

Related Publications

• Health Insurance Coverage and the Uninsured in Massachusetts: An Update Based on 2005 Current Population Survey Data
  August 01, 2007
  This chartbook provides detailed estimates of health insurance coverage in Massachusetts. It uses the most recent information available (for calendar year 2005) from the Census Bureau’s 2006 Annual Social and Economic Supplements to the Current Population Survey. It updates figures in an earlier chartbook that was released in June 2005—Health Insurance Coverage and the Uninsured in Massachusetts.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Roadmap to Coverage: Synthesis of Findings Executive Summary
  October 07, 2005
• Implementing Government-Funded Reinsurance in the Context of Universal Coverage
  October 07, 2005
  Implementation policy brief.
• Cost Containment Opportunities in the Roadmap to Coverage
  October 07, 2005
  Implementation policy brief.
• Enforcing Health Insurance Mandates
  October 07, 2005
  Implementation policy brief.
• Implementing Tax Credits for Affordable Health Insurance Coverage
  October 07, 2005
  Implementation policy brief.
• Maximizing the Use of Federal Matching Funds to Help Finance Universal Coverage
  October 07, 2005
  Implemenation policy brief.
• Roadmap to Coverage: Synthesis of Findings
  October 07, 2005
• You Can Get There From Here: Implementing the Roadmap to Coverage
  October 07, 2005
  An overview of the steps that would need to be taken to successfully implement the Roadmap coverage expansion options and the sequence and timeframe for completing them.
• Implementing a Health Plan Purchasing Pool
  October 07, 2005
  Implementation policy brief.
• Building the Roadmap to Coverage: Policy Choices and the Cost and Coverage Implications
  June 21, 2005
  An examination of how to pay for near-univeral health insurance in Massachusetts and the policy options available.
• Caring for the Uninsured in Massachusetts: What Does It Cost, Who Pays and What Would Full Coverage Add to Medical Spending?
  November 16, 2004
  An examination of the costs of providing care for uninsured Massachusetts residents.