This issue brief analyzes the health reform effort in Massachusetts, and how it used existing coverage systems such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), to reach an unprecedented 98.8% rate of insurance for children.
The paper provides a detailed look at how Massachusetts covers children and their parents, as well as the aspects of the Massachusetts model that have contributed to its success. While the brief confirms that children are more likely to have health coverage if their parents are insured, it also finds that it is not essential for each family member to have the same insurance.
Covering Children & their Parents was commissioned by First Focus as part of the Insuring our Future Series, and authored by Beth Waldman, a former Massachusetts Medicaid and CHIP director during the development and implementation of that state’s health care reform effort.