Healthcare Reform Research Paper
Healthcare Reform Research Paper OL-325
Marlene Maffe’ June 5, 2011
The objective is to understand the impact and employer cost as a result of Healthcare Reform to companies currently and what is to come in the future in Massachusetts and across the Nation.
Healthcare Reform On March 23, 2010 President Barrack Obama signed two bills that became law; [1]The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the HealthCare and [2]Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the latter was an amendment to the PPACA and was signed into law on March 30, 2010 and the National Healthcare Reform was born. In the state of Massachusetts, Healthcare Reform has been a reality since April 12, 2006 when the [3] Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, and Accountable Health Care was passed. Healthcare reform on the state level in Massachusetts was developed to provide affordable health insurance to all adult residents that could not afford coverage and to ensure that all adult residents were covered by a health insurance plan. They created the Commonwealth Connector, a program that connects residents with insurance plans that are affordable. If the resident is employed and the employer has more than 11 employees, the company is responsible for insuring their employees and offering a reasonably priced health plan that meets the [4]Minimum Credible Coverage (MCC). The MCC is a specific list of provisions and benefits that must be included in the employer offered health plans. If an employee is offered affordable coverage they must enroll to avoid paying tax penalties which include; losing your personal tax exemption, a penalty of $219 per each uninsured adult and also be subject to pay a penalty for each month they were not insured (half of the cost of the lowest affordable healthcare plan available). The proof of coverage is enforced by the residents state tax filing, each year every insured adult will receive a certificate of coverage from
Marlene Maffe’ June 5, 2011
The objective is to understand the impact and employer cost as a result of Healthcare Reform to companies currently and what is to come in the future in Massachusetts and across the Nation.
Healthcare Reform On March 23, 2010 President Barrack Obama signed two bills that became law; [1]The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the HealthCare and [2]Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the latter was an amendment to the PPACA and was signed into law on March 30, 2010 and the National Healthcare Reform was born. In the state of Massachusetts, Healthcare Reform has been a reality since April 12, 2006 when the [3] Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, and Accountable Health Care was passed. Healthcare reform on the state level in Massachusetts was developed to provide affordable health insurance to all adult residents that could not afford coverage and to ensure that all adult residents were covered by a health insurance plan. They created the Commonwealth Connector, a program that connects residents with insurance plans that are affordable. If the resident is employed and the employer has more than 11 employees, the company is responsible for insuring their employees and offering a reasonably priced health plan that meets the [4]Minimum Credible Coverage (MCC). The MCC is a specific list of provisions and benefits that must be included in the employer offered health plans. If an employee is offered affordable coverage they must enroll to avoid paying tax penalties which include; losing your personal tax exemption, a penalty of $219 per each uninsured adult and also be subject to pay a penalty for each month they were not insured (half of the cost of the lowest affordable healthcare plan available). The proof of coverage is enforced by the residents state tax filing, each year every insured adult will receive a certificate of coverage from
References: Status of Massachusetts Residents, Fifth Edition” (December 2006) Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Care Financing and Policy, “Fair Share Contribution Data Trend Analysis Filing Years 2007 and 2008,” October 2009, at (August 10, 2010).Web. Data compiled from Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services, “Massachusetts Employer Health Insurance Survey (June 23, 2010). Web.