Community Catalyst report on the role that foundations and other philanthropic organizations played during more than two decades of health care reform efforts in Massachusetts. (January 2009)

This report summarizes the impact of health reform thus far and may be used as a point of reference for policy makers who are considering approaches to health reform elsewhere at either the state or national level. If the Massachusetts model continues to work, all or part of this model and its supporting principles may be useful in local or national health reform efforts.

A 10-page issue brief that assesses the extent to which the insurance provided in Massachusetts under health reform in 2007 protects individuals from financial risk in the event of a major illness or injury.

An eight-page issue brief that analyzes the impacts of health reform on insurance coverage across different population groups in the state. Specifically, it examines differences in insurance coverage by demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, and gender), health status, employment, and geography.

This issue brief updates "MassHealth and State Fiscal Health: A New Look at the Effects of Medicaid Spending on State Finances," through 2007.

A fact sheet that introduces MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid program, describing its basic structure, benefits and beneficiaries. It examines how enrollment and spending have changed over time and describes some current policy issues and challenges.

Results of a public opinion poll of Massachusetts residents about health care reform.

An easy-to-use guide describing public health insurance options in Massachusetts and a set of flow charts illustrating the eligibility pathways to these programs for low-income people and families, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Also available on the Pathways to Coverage website.

The district court ruling in Rosie D. v. Romney, and the subsequent remedy now being implemented by state health and human service agencies, have the potential to transform the delivery of mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances in Massachusetts. This issue brief explores the implications and potential effects of the case and the resulting remedy on the MassHealth program, other state programs, the behavioral health and social service delivery systems, and affected children and their families.

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 Bureaus 2006 Annual Social and Economic Supplements to the Current Population Survey. It updates figures in an earlier chartbook that was released in 6/2005 Health Insurance Coverage and the Uninsured in Massachusetts.

The 2006 Massachusetts health care reform law included a provision to make Medicaid hospital rate increases contingent upon quality measures, including measures of the reduction of racial and ethnic disparities. To date, no other pay-for-performance programs have incorporated measures of the reduction of racial and ethnic disparities into their incentives. MMPI organized the Massachusetts Medicaid Disparities Policy Roundtable to bring together a group of experts to develop and recommend an approach to implementing the program. The Roundtable's recommendations are detailed in this white paper.

An independent report by health care journalist Irene Wielawski that examines how various interests in Massachusetts politics forged consensus to pass the 2006 health reform law.

Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health/Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation Massachusetts Health Reform Tracking Survey. This was the first in a series of surveys measuring Massachusetts residents attitudes towards and experiences with the 2006 health reform law.

The creation and implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit -- "Part D" -- attracted wide national attention and controversy. This paper, produced in collaboration with the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, looks beyond the anecdotes and gives a progress report on the impact of Part D in Massachusetts for Medicare beneficiaries -- 200,000 of whom are also MassHealth members and for state health programs such as MassHealth and Prescription Advantage.