Atrius Health recently joined a growing list of health care providers, consumer groups, representatives from the business community, and others to form the Massachusetts Coalition for Coverage & Care in response to potential threats to the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The Coalition was created by Health Care For All and is being co-hosted by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation which will provide research and technical assistance. The group was formed to ensure that state health reform measures (Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006) that provide universal coverage to Massachusetts residents is protected. Currently about 97% of people in Massachusetts have health insurance, which is among the highest rates in the country.
The purpose of the Coalition is twofold:
- Preserve and improve access to, and the affordability of, health insurance coverage in Massachusetts; and
- Protect the gains in access to care, health, and health equity that have resulted from near universal coverage in the state.
During its second meeting Coalition members were updated on the current political landscape in Washington and Massachusetts, efforts to repeal and/or replace the ACA, and the implications a repeal of the ACA might have for hundreds of thousands of residents as well as on federal funding. Members hope to broaden the level of understanding of what may be at stake here in Massachusetts if the ACA is repealed or replaced and identify specific actions the state and others can take to protect coverage and care for residents of the Commonwealth.
Atrius Health is proud to be a member of the Coalition and we hope to ensure that the great strides made over the past several years since Chapter 58 was passed into law are upheld and endorse the belief that the expansion of affordable coverage has improved access to health care and is good for the citizens of the state.