Debunking The 'Myth' That Health Reform Costs Are Out of Control

This report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation aims to revise one of those media "truths" that takes on a life all its own. Here's the overview:

Three years after Massachusetts enacted its groundbreaking health care reform law, Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, the number of residents with health insurance has increased by more than 432,000, giving the Commonwealth by far the lowest rate of uninsured residents in the nation.

An analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation finds that the cost of this achievement has been relatively modest and well within early projections of how much the state would have to spend to implement reform.

Based on actual and projected spending data for the first four years of health care reform, the Foundation concludes that state budget spending on health reform has grown from a base of $1.041 billion in fiscal 2006 to a projected $1.748 billion in fiscal 2010. That is an increase of $707 million, half of which is supported by federal reimbursements. The $353 million state share translates into an average yearly increase of only $88 million.

The full report is here.