The New Massachusetts Health Care Law Promises, Parallels and Preemption

On April 12, 2006, Governor Mitt Romney signed into law an act providing access to health care for Massachusetts residents (the “Act”). The landmark legislation puts Massachusetts (and Governor Romney) squarely in the health reform spotlight. Although Governor Romney used his line-item veto power to strike eight provisions of the Act, the Massachusetts House voted to override his vetoes and to reinstate those eight provisions. (To date, the Massachusetts Senate has voted to reinstate six of those provisions, including the fair share contribution.) Thirty other states are considering some form of health reform.

The new Massachusetts law enacts a novel “individual mandate” under which those who can afford health insurance must obtain it. The Act establishes the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector (the “Connector”), an entity designed to connect individuals and small businesses of 50 or fewer employees with health insurance products. In addition, the Act creates Commonwealth Care Health Insurance, a subsidized insurance program for those who earn less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level and are ineligible for the Massachusetts Medicaid program known as MassHealth.