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How many people are uninsured?
By Senator Richard T. Moore December 13, 2007 ... Last week, state leaders, business organization, health care advocates and others joined to celebrate the fact that by the end of this calendar year, some 300,000 Massachusetts residents who were uninsured a year ago now have health insurance. This is an accomplishment that no other state can claim, and it is a substantial improvement over the trend in health insurance on the national level. One of the media representatives in the audience that day at the State House asked, “How many uninsured residents are left?” At this point, no one really knows. There are, of course, estimates, but they vary widely depending on timing and methodology. What is particularly puzzling is that “America’s Health Rankings” produced by United Health Care Foundation uses the U.S. Census Bureau numbers which project a growth in the uninsured in Massachusetts since last year. The percentage of uninsured in Massachusetts as stated in the most recent edition of “America’s Health Rankings” lacks credibility in view of the nearly 300,000 previously uninsured individuals who are now insured either through MassHealth (Medicaid), Commonwealth Care, or private insurance. Yet the AHR suggests that the number of uninsured in Massachusetts have grown. While it’s possible, even likely, that some people have dropped coverage from the previous year because of increases in premiums, it’s highly unlikely that this number has been sufficient to reverse the substantial gains in the insured as a result of the Massachusetts Health Reform law. The Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy’s 2007 Survey of Health Insurance Status of Massachusetts residents found 355,000 or 5.7% of Massachusetts residents do not have health insurance. The survey found that the overall uninsured rate dropped from 6.4% in 2006 (395,000) to 5.7% in 2007, representing a 10% decrease in the number of uninsured. |
