HCFP SURVEY FINDS 40,000 DECREASE IN STATE’S UNINSURED

Health Care Reform Continues to Boost Coverage Across the Commonwealth

BOSTON — Due to the ongoing successful implementation of health care reform, the number of Massachusetts residents without health insurance has dropped significantly since last year, according to survey results released today by the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (HCFP).

The survey—conducted between January through July 2007—found that 355,000, or 5.7 percent of Massachusetts residents, do not have health insurance. This represents a 10 percent decrease from the same period last year.

The overall uninsured rate dropped from 6.4 percent to 5.7 percent, and the number of people without coverage fell from 395,000 to 355,000. The uninsured rate for adults under the age of 65 decreased from 9.2 to 8.2 percent, while there was no statistically significant change in the uninsured rate for children (2.3 percent).

“This is a clear indication that health reform is succeeding. Even in the early phase of the law’s implementation, these findings confirm our success in reducing the number of uninsured people across the entire Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby.

Over the past year, since the survey was last in the field, the state has made significant efforts to reduce the number of uninsured through its implementation of health care reform. Between July 2006 and July 2007, Massachusetts introduced Commonwealth Care and Commonwealth Choice; expanded MassHealth; and made it easier for people to get affordable insurance coverage through Section 125 plans and other initiatives.

“The state survey is the only source available that measures the change in the uninsured since the implementation of significant provisions of the state’s health reform law,” explained HCFP Commissioner Sarah Iselin.

These findings are based on a survey conducted for HCFP by the Center for Survey Research at UMass-Boston. The Center surveyed nearly 10,500 individuals and more than 4,000 Massachusetts households starting in January 2007.

In the process of analyzing the latest survey results, a methodological issue was identified that has resulted in a restatement of the 2006 survey results. This adjustment corrects for an under-representation of young adults aged 18-30, who are more likely to be uninsured. The likely explanation for this under-representation is the growth in cell-phone only households.

Both the 2006 and 2007 survey results have been adjusted to address this issue. This adjustment yielded a higher estimate of the uninsured in the Commonwealth in 2006 of 6.4 percent or 395,000, compared to 6.0 percent or 372,000, as had been originally reported.

About HCFP

The mission of the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy is to improve the delivery and financing of health care by providing information, developing policies and promoting efficiencies that benefit the people of Massachusetts. The Division’s goals include assuring the availability of relevant health care delivery system data to meet the needs of health care purchasers, providers, consumers and policy-makers; advising and informing decision-makers in the development of health care policies; developing health care pricing policies that support the cost-effective procurement of high-quality services for public beneficiaries; and improving access to health care for low-income uninsured and underinsured residents.

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