Monthly Archives: April 2014

Employer Sponsored Insurance Also Surged in MA in 2007.

There has been a great deal of surprise expressed in the media over the RAND’s latest report suggesting that more people have become insured through employer sponsored insurance (ESI) than through either Medicaid or the Exchanges under the ACA. One example is Adrianna McIntyre on The Incidental Economist who posted on Wednesday:

“I can’t overstate how stunning this finding is if it’s true; CBO expected that ESI gains and losses would pretty much break even in 2014 and that employer coverage would decline modestly in future years (p. 108).”

This result is precisely NOT stunning if you study the Massachusetts health reform.
In Massachusetts the expansion in ESI coverage ALSO led the total increase during the first year and half. Below is a  table summarizing the early returns in MA from a Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy study in 2011.

http://www.mass.gov/chia/docs/r/pubs/11/2011-key-indicators-may.pdf

Notice how growth in ESI dominated both Medicaid and the Exchange in the first two years, before being surpassed by these other two.

I speculate that part of the reason so many Massachusetts employers dropped their plans in 2010 was because they knew they were not
compliant with the ACA new higher standard, but that is speculation. There was also a serious recession that affected employment and enrollment.

Massachusetts Health Reform http://www.mass.gov/chia/docs/r/pubs/11/2011-key-indicators-may.pdf
Insured Population by Insurance Types, 2006-2010
Excluding Medicare
Insured Population by Insurance Type, 2006-2010
June 30 2006 Dec 31 2006 Dec 31 2007 Dec 31 2008 Dec 31 2009 Dec 31 2010
Private Group 4,333,014 4,395,136 4,457,157 4,474,466 4,358,867 4,315,040
Individual Purchase 40,184 38,718 65,465 81,073 114,668 117,514
MassHealth 705,179 740,663 764,559 780,727 848,528 898,572
Commonwealth Care 0 18,327 158,194 162,725 150,998 158,973
Total Members 5,078,377 5,192,814 5,445,375 5,498,991 5,473,061 5,490,099
Change since 6/30/2006 June 30 2006 Dec 31 2006 Dec 31 2007 Dec 31 2008 Dec 31 2009 Dec 31 2010
Private Group 62,122 124,143 141,452 25,853 -17,974
Individual Purchase -1,466 25,281 40,889 74,484 77,330
MassHealth 35,484 59,380 75,548 143,349 193,393
Commonwealth Care 18,327 158,194 162,725 150,998 158,973
Total Members 114,437 366,998 420,614 394,684 411,722
Distribution of new enrollment as a fraction of total gains June 30 2006 Dec 31 2006 Dec 31 2007 Dec 31 2008 Dec 31 2009 Dec 31 2010
Private Group 54% 34% 34% 7% -4%
Individual Purchase -1% 7% 10% 19% 19%
MassHealth 31% 16% 18% 36% 47%
Commonwealth Care 16% 43% 39% 38% 39%
Total Members 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%