Happy First Birthday, Universal Health Insurance: CHICA Bonita!

On April 12 last year, Massachusetts enacted an ambitious law to expand health coverage to most of the state’s 500,000 uninsured residents. Now, a year later, more than 110,000 formerly uninsured residents have coverage. MassHealth, the Medicaid provider, expanded to cover 50,000 of them, and 63,000 get coverage through the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority (CHICA). Another 100,000 eligible people have not yet enrolled.

Read today’s Boston Globe column by John McDonough--a proud father, who may be sleepless over his baby’s normal growing pains about affordability. And give him a cigar—a chocolate one…

P.S. Its dental coverage for newly insured people under the federal poverty line is quietly saving the lives of homeless kids like Deamonte Driver, may he rest in peace.

Advice to Americans outside of Massachusetts: Read how Massachusetts is handling this - and start watering your grassroots organizations—it’s Spring.

This IS a happy new year!: Access to healthcare

More than 40 million Americans lack health insurance, and so get little preventive medical care. Massachusetts has begun an exciting new program to cover the uninsured. The program, after only three months, already has enrolled 29,000 uninsured Massachusetts residents who earn less than the federal poverty level. Read more about the coming health care for all coverage in Massachusetts.

Congratulations to Jon Kingsdale, the head of the Connector Board that runs the new programs, and John McDonough, one of the key members of the broad coalition that vigorously promoted the new state law!

Advice to Massachusetts residents: Forward this message to someone who may lack health insurance.