At A Glance: The Rival Health Care Reform Proposals

Gov. Mitt Romney’s Proposal includes:

Individual mandates – all Massachusetts residents must obtain coverage.
Enrollment in MassHealth of 106,000 eligible but as of yet uninsured residents.
Subsidized coverage for 150,000 individuals below the federal poverty level.
Implementation of the Commonwealth Care Insurance Exchange, which would offer low-cost policies for the 200,000 who could afford insurance if the right product were available.
Improved access to health care for the traditional, hard-to-cover individuals such as part-timers or those with multiple employers.
Removal of municipal health plan design and costsharing provisions from collective bargaining.
Reform of the malpractice system.
Improved consumer access to provider cost and quality information.
Increased Medicaid provider reimbursement rates
A total number of 460,000 previously uninsured Massachusetts residents obtaining health insurance.

The House Bill Proposes:

Implementation individual mandates, eligible enrollment into MassHealth, low-income subsidies, improved consumer access to provider cost and quality information, and increased Medicaid provider reimbursement rates, similar to the governor’s proposal.
Creation of a new employer assessment, which would tax companies who do not provide health insurance.
Elimination of a $160 million insurer surcharge for the Uncompensated (Free) Care Pool.
Expanded eligibility for MassHealth for 100,000 residents, including new eligibility for some adult nonparents.
Partial funding of the program by tapping $255 million a year from the tobacco settlement fund.
A total number of 588,000 previously uninsured Massachusetts residents obtaining health insurance.

The Senate Bill Proposes:

Improved consumer access to provider cost and quality information and increased Medicaid provider reimbursement rates, similar to the governor’s proposal and House bill.
Clearance for municipalities to set employee contribution rates outside collective bargaining.
Implementation of employer assessment based on actual usage of the free care pool.
Expansion of the Insurance Partnership employer subsidy program.
Preservation of much of the existing Uncompensated Care Pool system.
A cost of $105 million to expand the Medicaid programs, with $47.5 million coming from federal assistance.
A total number of 276,000 previously uninsured Massachusetts residents obtaining health insurance.