Governor Mitt Romney
signed landmark legislation today that through a private,
market-based reform will make health insurance available to every
resident of Massachusetts within the next three years.
“An achievement like this comes around once in a generation, and
it proves that government can work when people of both parties reach
across the aisle for the common good,” said Romney. “Today,
Massachusetts is leading the way with health insurance for everyone,
without a government takeover and without raising taxes.”
The legislation was approved by a bipartisan 154-2 margin in the
House of Representatives and a 37-0 vote in the Senate. It was
signed at a Faneuil Hall ceremony attended by hundreds of
people.
“This would not have been possible without the courageous work of
Senate President Travaglini, Speaker DiMasi, providers, insurers,
consumer groups and all the other industry stakeholders who
recognized an opportunity to do something historic,” said
Romney.
The law requires every individual in the state to
purchase health insurance by July 1, 2007. Of the
approximately 500,000 uninsured, about 100,000 are eligible for
Medicaid, another 200,000 making less than 300 percent of the
federal poverty level, but not eligible for Medicaid will receive
premium assistance on an income-based sliding scale for policies
with no deductibles, and another 200,000 with incomes above 300
percent FPL will be able to purchase lower-cost policies in the
private market. Premium assistance will be financed by
redirecting a portion of the $1 billion currently spent by state
government on the uninsured.
Beginning on January 1, 2008, failure by individuals to purchase
health insurance will result in the loss of their state tax refund
equal to 50 percent of an affordable health insurance premium.
Penalties will be assessed for each month without creditable
coverage.
The creation of an entity, the Commonwealth Care Health Insurance
Connector, will allow individuals to now purchase affordable plans
on a pre-tax basis. The Connector will administer premium
assistance for low-income individuals and facilitate employer
contributions for both full-time and part-time workers and those
working at more than one company.
Eligible to purchase through the Connector are non-working
individuals, working individuals at companies that do not offer
health insurance, workers not eligible for coverage at their place
of business such as part-timers, contractors and new employees,
small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, and those who are
self-employed.
The legislation also enhances the goal of greater transparency in
health care cost and quality through the collection and publication
of data needed by consumers to make informed decisions. The
information will allow consumers to compare the quality, track
record and cost of hospitals and providers.
The passage of the legislation moves Massachusetts closer to the
implementation of a waiver that will allow the state to continue to
receive $385 million in federal funding for each of the next two
years. The waiver was negotiated by Governor Romney and
Senator Kennedy last year, and was dependent on the state developing
a “demonstration project” to reduce the rate of uninsured.
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services has already
begun providing details of the Massachusetts plan for review by
federal Medicaid officials.
Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson
commended Governor Romney for signing what Thompson termed
“groundbreaking legislation to provide health coverage to all
Massachusetts families.”
“Massachusetts is showing us a better way, one I hope policy
makers in Statehouses and Congress will follow to build a healthier
and stronger America,” said Thompson, a former
Republican governor of Wisconsin.
The Governor vetoed the creation of a new fee on
businesses. The $295 per employee fee would have been assessed
to employers with 11 or more full-time workers who do not offer and
contribute to their employees’ health insurance. The Governor
said the fee is “not necessary to implement or finance health care
reform.”
The Governor also vetoed a provision to provide dental benefits
to adult Medicaid recipients, which will cost $75 million annually.
Romney said the benefits expansion is financially
unsustainable and noted that it provides a service not offered by
most Massachusetts employers. Sixty percent of employers in
Massachusetts do not provide dental coverage to their workers.
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