MA exempts 20% of uninsured from mandate

Bowing to public pressure, Massachusetts officials are planning to exempt almost 20 percent of uninsured adults from the state's health insurance mandate. Under the state's reform law, all adults would have to have health insurance by July 1, and they'd face a penalty if they didn't have insurance by December 31. However, officials have concluded that even bare-bones, high-deductible insurance will be too expensive for about 60,000 people who make too much to qualify for state subsidies, so in the interests of keeping the rest of the plan on track, they're carving out exceptions for these people. The state's Connector Authority, which is administering the rollout of the mandate, is also looking at expanding subsidies for 62,000 of the state's low-income individuals and families. While the new exceptions will prevent the state from achieving its full-coverage goals, they shouldn't take too much momentum away from the state's reforms. Even if 60,000 citizens don't buy in, the new mandate will push out coverage to 99 percent of the state's population.

To learn more about the exemption:
- read this piece from The Boston Globe

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