Even with Massachusetts leading National healthcare reform in 2007, plus the major advancements of the [[wp:Affordable Care Act|Affordable Care Act]] in 2010, healthcare is (still) so broken in the US. (I'm on a mission to fix it.) We spend more than anybody else on the planet, yet have higher mortality rates, and lack universal healthcarehealth care.
A couple points made in this article with regard to your personal health care data:
Perhaps improving patient access to patient medical data would improve health care outcomes!
In the United States, individual health insurance is mandatory - or you will be fined when you file taxes. Of course everyone wants health care, so on the surface it's not too onerous to say that it's "mandatory". But, if you're not covered by an employer plan (because you were '''just laid off'''<ref>If you get laid off, check the Mass Health Connector for plans '''BEFORE''' signing up for COBRA - because the connector plans can be more affordable; and you're not eligible for connector plans if you're 'covered' by insurance (through COBRA).</ref>, self-employed, or work for a small employer with < 50 employees), then you must obtain health insurance on your own. It is rather insane to tie health benefits to employment when employment changes routinely - whereas health care is something that you want to be continuous, permanent, and stable over time.
All these programs are combined in Massachusetts under one 'application' (if you're under age 65) https://mahealthconnector.org
In order to determine eligibility (You must renew every year! Like doing taxes!) <ref>https://www.mass.gov/doc/130-cmr-502-health-care-reform-masshealth-eligibility-process/download Also, "CaseText" - a division of Thomson Reuters, has the [https://casetext.com/regulation/code-of-massachusetts-regulations/department-130-cmr-division-of-medical-assistance/title-130-cmr-502000-health-care-reform-masshealth-eligibility-process/section-502007-continuing-eligibility 130 Mass. Reg. 502.007] (and all Massachusetts Legal Code) in a more readable format.</ref>, MassHealth initiates 'information matches'. They look you up electronically to match you in (emphasis added)
#'''the Federal Data Hub''', which matches with the '''Social Security Administration''', the '''Department of Homeland Security''', and the '''Internal Revenue Service'''; and
What if you move from one state to another? Perhaps you live in a border town where the 'next state' is next door. One of the many things you need to do is also renew and replace all your health insurance and physician relationships in 45 days or less. It's just one of many examples why [[wp:Universal health care|Universal health care]] is the system in place in all other industrialized nations on earth (and even developing countries).
==Renewal==
https://www.mahix.org/individual/ I assume this is the domain for the 'Massachusetts Healthcare Information Exchange'
So, if your employer offers a health plan with a monthly premium of $337, you're not going to get any marketplace credits.
An interesting note: 1/12 is 8.33% So, basically you are expected to pay one month of your income towards health insurance. And 2024 is the first year in a decade where the rate was below 9% <br />
===New in 2024 and 2025===
Plan comparison [https://ma.checkbookhealth.org/hie/ma/2024/index.cfm? https://ma.checkbookhealth.org/hie/ma/2024/]
healthcare plans are offered in "metallic" tiers like you're somehow winning medals in the Olympics instead of paying the world's highest costs for healthcarehealth care. The system is just another level of indirection. Personally, I think the lowest level of payout ('bronze') should start out at 80%, with additional tiers of 85, 90, and 95 - or even 100%. I mean why is it called 'platinum', better than 'gold', and only pays out 90%? Sounds like these plans are "platinum colored" rather than genuine platinum.
{| class="wikitable"
|+What Metal Tiers mean
Someone must '''apply''', '''enroll''', and '''pay your first premium''' by the '''23rd of the month''' ''before'' your coverage can '''start the following month'''.
For example, enroll and pay by April 23rd for coverage to start on May 1 == Health Information Exchanges ==You've probably heard of the "New York Stock Exchange" (NYSE) - where stocks are traded. Did you know that there is such a thing as "health information exchanges" (HIE)? Hint, they don't trade healthcare stocks! The [https://www.masshiway.net/ Mass HIway] is the Massachusetts [[wp:Health information exchange|Health Information Exchange]] (HIE). {{References}}