“It’s our neighbors, it’s the people we work with, it’s people in our families”

From the Boston Globe, an article of interest for Franklin:

"It’s known as the state’s budget buster, a big public entitlement program whose enrollment is often growing and costs are always rising. 

The Massachusetts Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, provides health coverage to more than a quarter of the state population. So, who benefits from the program? A new report attempts to describe these 1.8 million people, as lawmakers prepare to finalize the state budget over the coming weeks. 

While it doesn’t recommend policy changes, the report attempts to humanize a program that is often reduced to numbers and statistics. 

Most people covered by MassHealth have very low incomes — while living in an expensive state — according to the analysis from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. Eighty-five percent of them have incomes of about $16,000 or less per individual, or $28,000 or less for a family of three."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/26/beyond-budget-figures-new-report-provides-snapshot-million-people-masshealth/3vmVvAjwwvyozrTznKXIfL/story.html

The report referenced can be viewed here or directly via Blue Cross
https://bluecrossmafoundation.org/sites/default/files/download/publication/BCBSF_FacesofMassHealth_ChartPack_Final.pdf

“It’s our neighbors, it’s the people we work with, it’s people in our families”