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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.

Enrollment Volatility in MassHealth: A Progress Report

This report, by Robert Seifert and Amanda Littell-Clark of the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Health Law and Economics, summarizes recent efforts by the Massachusetts Medicaid program (“MassHealth”) to address enrollment volatility and provides recommendations to mitigate remaining challenges by leveraging the opportunities presented with the transition to ACA-compliant eligibility systems and programs.

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.

Affordable Care Act Tracking Tool

Chart of state decisions related to implementation of the federal health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Originally created by the Center for Health Law & Economics, UMASS Medical School, and Health Care For All; updated by the BCBSMA Foundation. This document was last updated in February 2013.

The Governor’s FY 2014 House 1 Budget Proposal

This budget brief describes the Governor's Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 budget proposal for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other subsidized health coverage programs. It is the first in a series of FY 2014 fact sheets that will be published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) and produced by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. MMPI will be publishing budget fact sheets at each stage in the FY 2014 budget process, as budget proposals move through the state legislature.

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.

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.

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.

Business Community Participation in Health Reform: The Massachusetts Experience

This report funded in part by the Foundation explains how and why Massachusetts business leaders became involved in health reform and the difference their engagement has made and presents the perspectives of individual entrepreneurs, business owners and executives on how Massachusetts health reform has affected their companies, their employees and the overall business climate in Massachusetts.

MassHealth and Health Reform Funding in the FY 2013 General Appropriations Act

This budget brief highlights the FY 2013 budget for MassHealth and health reform programs.  Since FY 2012, MMPI has produced budget fact sheets on the budget proposal for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other health care programs for each stage of the development of the state budget as the budget moves through the legislature.  Click here to see the full collection.