MA Health Coverage Still Leads Country, Census Data Reveals

Massachusetts has seen a less than one percent reduction in the state's number of uninsured individuals since the majority of the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2014, sorely lagging behind the rest of the nation.

The difference, however, is that Massachusetts was ahead of the curve to begin with.

The Bay State saw a roughly 0.9 percent dip in the number of uninsured individuals between 2013 and 2015. That comes to about 58,000 fewer people without coverage, according to new numbers out from the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday.

The trend is downward, yes, but nothing compared to the U.S. average, which was a 5.1 percent drop in the number of uninsured nationwide, aka roughly 15 million people.

Across the country, Massachusetts' 0.9 percent decline is the lowest. However, the numbers show that's because nearly everyone else was playing from behind.

The U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 data shows how Massachusetts started ahead of the rest of the country.

Here's the Bay State's number of uninsured individuals, starting pre-Affordable Care Act in 2013, versus five states with comparable populations in that same year:

• Arizona: 1.1 million uninsured
• Indiana: 903,000
• Tennessee: 887,000
• Missouri: 773,000
• Maryland: 593,000
• Massachusetts: 247,000

See nationwide numbers and more details from the U.S. Census bureau here.

Here are the same states' number of uninsured individuals in 2015:

• Arizona: 758,000 uninsured
• Indiana: 628,000
• Tennessee: 667,000
• Missouri: 583,000
• Maryland: 389,000
• Massachusetts: 189,000

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a left-leaning group based in Boston, cheered the numbers via statement Tuesday.

"Today's data shows that there are 15 million fewer people without health insurance than when key provision of the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2013," said MassBudget President Noah Berger. "That is a remarkable policy accomplishment, and it started right here in Massachusetts. Our state led the way by creating near-universal coverage -- and a model for the nation. Today in Massachusetts 97% of our people have health insurance and the Affordable Care Act has led to the federal government providing our state with hundreds of millions in new funding for health care costs that had previously been paid for with state revenues."

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