Massachusetts’s universal health plan, long discussed as a possible model for the nation, is getting a $115 million haircut. Faced with lower revenues and a growing number of citizens who lost their jobs and their health insurance, the state didn’t have enough money to pay for insurance subsidies for needy residents under the current plan, the Boston Globe reports . Under the biggest cut, low-income residents who are eligible for full subsidies under the program, but who don’t choose a health plan, will no longer be automatically enrolled. Also, the state’s poorest residents will no longer get dental coverage through the plan. In all, the cuts

are expected to trim 12% from the budget for the program, known as Commonwealth Care, which covers 177,000 people and was projected to grow to 212,000 next year. Meanwhile, the state’s treasurer, a Democrat who may run for governor next year, told the Globe that the health plan may prove unsustainable. “It’s a warning for the federal government as it looks to do something similar,” he said. “I’m not saying we can’t afford any of it, but it certainly doesn’t appear that we can afford all of it.” Map via Wikimedia Commons

Read the original:
Massachusetts Makes Cuts to Universal Health Plan