Measuring Health Reform’s Early Success
In the first year after Massachusetts implemented its landmark coverage expansion and health reforms, the uninsurance rate among adults dropped by almost half, from 13% to 7.1%.
That’s the lead conclusion of a new survey being published today in Health Affairs, the leading health policy journal. The report’s author, Sharon Long, will present her findings at today’s summit sponsored by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA Foundation. You can read the full report here.
Key findings of the report:
- Increased Access To Care: In fall 2007, 83.1 percent of low-income adults said they had a usual source of medical care — an important factor in establishing care coordination and continuity — compared to 79.5 percent in fall 2006. In fall 2007, low-income adults were also more likely to report a dental visit and a visit to a physician for preventive care within the past 12 months than in fall 2006.
- No Crowd-Out Of Employer Coverage: The share of adults overall and of working adults who reported an offer of employer-sponsored health coverage remained stable between fall 2006 and fall 2007. Indeed, among low-income adults — the group eligible for subsidized coverage under MassHealth and Commonwealth Care — employer coverage increased by five percentage points between fall 2006 and fall 2007.
- Fewer Financial Barriers To Care: In fall 2007, 16.9 percent of low-income adults said that they had not received needed care in the past twelve months because of cost, compared to 27.3 percent in fall 2006. The proportion of low-income adults with more than $500 in out-of-pocket spending dropped from 48.2 percent in fall 2006 to 37.4 percent in fall 2007.
Challenges remain. The study found an increase in the percentage of low-income adults who did not receive care because of difficulty finding a health care provider, from 4.1 percent to 6.9 percent. Among the remaining uninsured, 80.1 percent said it would be difficult for them to come up with the funds needed to purchase coverage. Support for the law was strong among all adults, at 71%. But among the remaining uninsured, support declined from 63% in the fall of 2006 to 44% in the fall of 2007.
At the same time, Health Affairs is publishing a summary of health reform implementation, written by former HCFA Executive Director John McDonough, and HCFA staffers Brian Rosman, Mehreen Butt, Lindsey Tucker and Lisa Kaplan Howe. Read it here.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
[...] care reform to improve access to affordable health insurance. Here are some of the report’s key findings: – Increased Access To Care: One year after Massachusetts adopted comprehensive reform, [...]
June 4th, 2008 at 8:37 am
These figures seem like total baloney to me.
I’m uninsured so I’m one of supposedly 7 pct.
of adults by this report.
I guess the other 93 pct can afford the $250 a
month I would pay to get coverage.
I find it ridiculous to think they are counting
right. Do they eliminate really poor people in the number figuring they are part of medicaid?
I work in social services and 40 pct of employees
in my company can’t/don’t take health insurance.
The estimates in everyone’s reports seem too low
for uninsured. Look around you at the cooks, maids, people that wash your car and mow your lawn. Take a ride on the MBTA or a walk in a
working class city. Those 7 pct of uninsured
sure seem to make a bigger crowd than expected.
All these reports are propaganda. They scared
3pct more people into taking health insurance
they probably can’t afford and will have to drop
when it inevitably costs even more.
The system is broken. Mandating that we all get into the sinking boat and row will not help in the long run.
In 1997 some national estimates said 19pct of adults nationwide were uninsured. That was ten years ago when it cost 1/3 what it does now.
They take a survey to find out who is uninsured?
This seems really dumb..where are the figures
from employers? They only report what makes their
happy case. Things are getting worse not better.
How many will drop coverage to pay for gas and heating oil this year? Get real.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I am interested in the calculation of the following stats you presented.
“Fewer Financial Barriers To Care: In fall 2007, 16.9 percent of low-income adults said that they had not received needed care in the past twelve months because of cost, compared to 27.3 percent in fall 2006. The proportion of low-income adults with more than $500 in out-of-pocket spending dropped from 48.2 percent in fall 2006 to 37.4 percent in fall 2007.”
Is this calculated with the “new” amount of people being covered? If so What are the number of people we are talking about.
27.3 % of how many people compared to 16.9% of how many people, didn’t get care because of cost?
48.2% of how many people compared to 37.4% of how many people had $500 in out of pocket expenses?
I wonder whether the many people forced into health care converage now not only lose the money they pay in premiums but also can not seek care for any but the most serious health care issues because deductibles and copays are too high.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:29 am
[...] about the recent health reform implementation statistics. The Urban Institute/BCBS Foundation survey results indicated that the MA uninsurance rate had decreased by almost 50% from the fall of 2006 to the [...]
June 15th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Sharon Long replies:
In response to Mr. Hovestadt’s question from June 12th: Since the Massachusetts Health Reform Survey that is used in the study doesn’t follow the same individuals over time, we aren’t able to identify the adults who were “newly” covered in fall 2007. We can only say that, as a group, low-income adults (defined as those with incomes less than 300% FPL) faced fewer financial barriers to care in fall 2007 than in fall 2006.
The figures that you are asking about are based on all low-income adults – which was approximately the same number of people for both rounds of the survey. That is, 16.9 percent of all low-income adults in fall 2007, as compared to 27.3 percent of all low-income adults in fall 2006, reported unmet need for care in the last year because of costs.
So over that time, the total number of low-income people with financial barriers to care dropped, as well as the percentage.