Health Reform Massachusetts Style

Everyone interested in solutions to our health system's problems (and who isn't?) is looking to Massachusetts in the wake of its recent landmark legislation. Like the Rorschach ink blot test, many commentators see what they want to see, not what is actually there. Pessimists emphasize the uniqueness of Massachusetts and rush to proclaim that it can never happen anywhere else in America. Pragmatists see a bipartisan agreement to cover all people and celebrate, regardless of the type or coverage or the cost implications. Anti-tax zealots see the specter of a government promise to insure access for all and denounce it as socialism or worse. Single payer advocates see waste and greed in the reliance on private insurance and decry the focus on individual rather than employer responsibility.

As the nation digests the facts and convenient fictions of the Massachusetts health care reform plan, this issue brief clarifies its key provisions and analyzes the implications for state-level and national reform.

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.