Important July 1st 2007 Health Changes

Important July 1st Health Program Changes

Effective July 1st, the following changes are being taken to further implement health care reform.

• No premiums for households under 150% of poverty in MassHealth or Commonwealth Care- In MassHealth alone, close to 19,000 households who are currently paying premiums will be excused from further premium obligations because of this change. Thousands more will be excused from premium obligations under Commonwealth Care;
• Premiums waived for MassHealth children if household includes parent on Commonwealth Care- Children above 150% of poverty can be excused from premium obligations if one or both parents are enrolled and paying premiums under the Commonwealth Care Program.  This could potentially impact another 11,000 households;
• Self-employed individuals to lose the "employer" portion of the Insurance Partnership Program subsidy, remain eligible only for the employee subsidy- Currently the Administration is unsure whether it will offer Commonwealth Care benefits as an alternative to these self-employed IPP households (a better deal financially) and, if allowed, whether to impose a six-month "crowd-out" waiting period.  We will keep you informed as we learn more;
• also, The individual mandate becomes effective (sort of)- While the official date under Chapter 58 for the individual mandate is July 1st, the  tax penalty will only apply, in this first year, for individuals who are uninsured on December 31st.  This effectively pushes the real mandate back to the end of the calendar year. Significant media attention has been given to the July 1st date, but the really important deadline looms in December.