Reports for Coverage and Care

The Innovators: What the Innovation Fund for the Uninsured 2001–2010 Teaches Us about Delivering Better Health Care

From 2001 through 2010, the Foundation awarded $10.5 million to 48 organizations across the Commonwealth through the Innovation Fund for the Uninsured. The organizations profiled in this report, along with the other grant recipients, were at the forefront of delivering higher-quality, more cost-effective care. They honed a number of strategies that remain instructive today, including team-based care, case management, coordination of physical health and behavioral health care, and the use of community health workers.

Reaching the Remaining Uninsured in Massachusetts: Challenges and Opportunities

This report is the latest in a series by the Urban Institute analyzing the impact of the Massachusetts health reform law based on the Massachusetts Health Reform Survey (MHRS).  Findings show that that the remaining uninsured are disproportionately young, male, Hispanic, and non-citizens.  The data presented also show the geographic areas of the state with high numbers of uninsured children and non-elderly adults.

Closing the Gap on Health Care Disparities

From 2008 through 2011, the Foundation supported 11 community-based coalitions across Massachusetts through its Closing the Gap on Health Care Disparities Initiative. This report, prepared by Mary Coonan and Terry Saunders Lane of The Center for Social Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston, explores areas of coalition development, system change, and public awareness.

Chapter 224: What Does It Mean for Hospitals, Health Plans, Consumers, and Clinicians?

These fact sheets highlight the major implications of Massachusetts’s 2012 health care cost containment law, Chapter 224, for four key stakeholder groups:  hospitals, health plans, consumers, and clinicians. From increased data reporting requirements for hospitals and health plans, to greater cost transparency for consumers, Chapter 224 will have significant impacts on many aspects of the Massachusetts health care system in the years ahead.

Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012: Implications for MassHealth

This report, written by Robert Seifert and Rachel Gershon of the Center for Health Law and Economics at UMass Medical School, examines the key components of the most recent Massachusetts health reform law - Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012 - as they pertain to the Massachusetts Medicaid program (“MassHealth”). Under the new law, MassHealth will be subject to the annual spending growth benchmark and will be required to implement alternative payment arrangements for most of its members, among other new requirements and responsibilities.

Summary of Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012

This report – written by Anna Gosline and Elisabeth Rodman of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation – summarizes the key components of Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012, “An Act Improving the Quality of Health Care and Reducing Costs Through Increased Transparency, Efficiency and Innovation,” which was signed into law on August 6, 2012.

Sick in Massachusetts: Views on Health Care Costs and Quality

This poll – conducted in April and May 2012 by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health – asked “sick” Massachusetts residents a series of questions related their perception of health care costs and quality in Massachusetts, the reasons for cost and quality problems, and their personal experience with cost and quality issues. The results showed that sick residents are very concerned about health care costs in Massachusetts, and some struggle with their own costs of care.

Benefits of Slower Health Care Cost Growth for Massachusetts Employees and Employers

This report by Jonathan Gruber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology models the potential benefits to the economy if health care costs were to grow more slowly than projected. In the face of rising health insurance costs, studies find, employers tend to reduce or blunt the rise of employee wages as well as offer less generous insurance coverage. But employers cannot pass along all the increased costs of health insurance as decreased wages and benefits. Any additional costs must be offset either by cutting jobs or by accepting lower business profits.

Health Reform in Massachusetts: An Update as of Fall 2010

This report is the latest in a series by the Urban Institute analyzing the impact of the Massachusetts health reform law. Findings show that despite the state's economic recession Massachusetts has maintained record low levels of uninsured and access to needed health care has improved. This report is based on the 2010 Massachusetts Health Reform Survey (MHRS), which has tracked the impact of the law annually since 2006.

Public Perceptions of Health Care Costs in Massachusetts

This poll, fielded in late September 2011 and led by Robert Blendon at the Harvard Opinion Research Program, probed 1002 Massachusetts adults on various questions surrounding health care costs, including their perceptions of major cost drivers, who they believe should take the lead on addressing costs and how important is it for the state to take major action. The results reveal that the public is greatly concerned over rising costs and ready for the state to take major actions to tackle them.

Closing the Gap on Racial and Ethnic Health Care Disparities: Lessons Learned from 2005-2008 Grantees

In 2005, the Foundation launched the Closing the Gap on Racial and Ethnic Health Care Disparities grantmaking area and secured the Disparities Solution Center at Massachusetts General Hospital as an evaluation partner. This report highlights stories of change from policy, organizational, provider, and client perspectives. Lessons from this report guided the Foundation in revising its funding strategy for the subsequent 2008–2011 grantmaking cycle.

Health Reform in Massachusetts: An Update as of Fall 2009

This report is the latest in a series by the Urban Institute analyzing the impact of the Massachusetts health reform law. Findings show that despite the state's economic recession Massachusetts has maintained record low levels of uninsured and access to needed health care has improved. Additionally, disparities in coverage and care have been eliminated or narrowed. Solid public support for the health reform law continues. This report is based on the 2009 Massachusetts Health Reform Survey (MHRS), which has tracked the impact of the law annually since 2006.

The Impacts of Health Reform for Women in Massachusetts

This policy brief based on data from the 2009 Massachusetts Health Reform Survey shows that women have achieved significant gains in insurance coverage and in access and use of health care since health reform was implemented in Massachusetts. The gains were particularly strong for subgroups of women who had lower levels of coverage and poorer access prior to reform, including lower-income women, women of minority race/ethnicity, and women without dependent children.