Massachusetts Law Not Affecting Proportion of Health Insurance Costs

A new study from the University of Massachusetts Medical School found that the proportion that employers, consumers and the state government were paying on healthcare coverage was the same in 2007 as they were a year before a new statewide health insurance mandate went into effect, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

The 2006 law requires nearly all Massachusetts residents to have health insurance or face a penalty. According to the report, employers with more than 10 full-time equivalent staff must provide coverage or pay for uninsured workers.

The study found that in 2007, employers contributed around 48 percent of overall spending on coverage in Massachusetts. Consumers paid around 25 percent, and state and federal government contributed around 27 percent, according to the report.

According to the report, spending on healthcare coverage increased by $4.7 billion from 2005-2007, but 61 percent of the increase was attributed to healthcare inflation unrelated to the law.

The study found that consumers paid around $16 million in penalties for failing to have health coverage whereas employers paid $7.7 million.

According to the report, 72 percent of Massachusetts employers offer health insurance, which is higher than the national average of 60 percent.

Read the Boston Globe's report about the Massachusetts health insurance study.