Background: MassHealth is a statewide demonstration project that makes health insurance available to a number of previously uninsured individuals. Since the demonstration began, the number of MassHealth members has grown over 46.5% to include over 800,000 members. In addition to the traditional Medicaid population, the demonstration provides coverage for the uninsured, the unemployed, the working and non-working disabled, low-income workers and their families, individuals with HIV, and women with breast and cervical cancer. The MassHealth demonstration is also designed to stimulate private employers to offer affordable health insurance to their low-income workers. To this end, MassHealth offers insurance payments to small employers who offer health insurance to low-income workers for which the employers pay at least 50% of the premium. In January, 2005, the demonstration was extended an additional three years, through June of 2008. One of the major differences in this approved extension is the creation of the Safety Net Care Pool (SNCP). The SNCP is a fixed allotment consisting of a combination of demonstration savings and the Commonwealth's DSH allotment. This Pool is available to pay for costs related to providing health care services to the uninsured and unreimbursed Medicaid costs. Also, up to 10% of the SNCP may be used for improvement of the delivery of health care to uninsured populations, such as capacity building and infrastructure. Fundamental Program Initiatives: One of the major differences in this approved extension is the creation of the Safety Net Care Pool (SNCP). The SNCP is a fixed allotment consisting of a combination of demonstration savings and the Commonwealth's DSH allotment. This Pool is available to pay for costs related to providing health care services to the uninsured and unreimbursed Medicaid costs. Also, up to 10% of the SNCP may be used for improvement of the delivery of health care to uninsured populations, such as capacity building and infrastructure. Current Status: The demonstration was renewed through June 30, 2011. Please refer to the "MassHealth Fact Sheet" for additional information. |
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