Before the Joint Committee on Health Care
Financing
October 3, 2011
The Massachusetts Medical Society is in support of the
provisions of Senate Bill 519, "An Act Relative to Health Care
Affordability," that would expand the definition of "affordability"
under the Massachusetts Health Reform Law (Chapter 58 of the Acts
of 2006) to assure that Massachusetts citizens who truly cannot
meet the "individual mandate" due to high copayments and
deductibles will not be penalized.
The Massachusetts Medical Society wholeheartedly supported the
legislation that was enacted as Chapter 58, and remains an active
participant in the ACT coalition's post-enactment advocacy efforts
to secure full implementation of that law, as well as the
strengthen its provisions. This legislation has made it
possible for Massachusetts to have the highest rate of health
insurance coverage in the nation (97.4 percent) with over 432,000
previously uninsured patients now covered!
Part of the success of Chapter 58 has been due to the
implementation of an "individual mandate" - the requirement that
all Massachusetts residents secure health insurance coverage or
face a significant tax penalty. While the mandate approach
has worked well for most of the population, its implementation has
caused unnecessary hardship for some. Those adversely
affected include both older patients and those with chronic
disease. Both are populations that incur greater than average
medical costs. Not taking out of pocket health care costs
(including deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance) into account
when determining affordability can result in those patients being
forced to pay a tax penalty for not meeting the mandate's
requirement to purchase health insurance, despite the fact that
they could not truly afford to purchase that coverage.
We urge the Committee to favorably report out the proposed new
definition of "affordability."
