 Image: David Paul Ohmer under CC 3.0 |
Largely due to the state’s first-in-the-nation healthcare reform, Massachusetts residents are the most likely in America to have a health insurance plan. Still, the expansion has not succeeded in providing universal coverage. Why?
A recent study from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Access Reform Evaluation looked to identify the 4.1 percent who were still uninsured.
Here are their findings on the average Massachusetts resident without health insurance:
- From 19 to 64 years old
- male
- an ethnic or racial minority (African-American, Hispanic, etc.)
- unmarried
- lack of proficency in the English language; either their own or that of an adult who lives with them
- less educated
- not a U.S. citizen
- more likely to be unemployed
- could be eligible for public Medicaid coverage
The study’s authors believe that the state’s message may not be getting across to its attempted demographic. Suggestions include rewriting the program information in order for it to be understandable with a 4th to 8th grade reading level.
