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- Apr 5, 2009
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Boston Bomb Victims To Benefit From 'Romneycare' Health Reforms
The victims of the Boston Marathon bombing have endured pain and injury but they may be spared further insult in the form of huge medical bills, thanks to Massachusetts' unique health care system.
Owing to a 2006 health care reform law enacted by then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R), just 4 percent of Massachusetts residents were uninsured in 2011, according to census data. And many of those bombing victims who lack health insurance, including those visiting Boston from out of state, may qualify for financial assistance from a "Romneycare" safety-net program.
<snip>
The most severely injured bombing victims likely will suffer lifelong health problems or disabilities as a result of their injuries, and Massachusetts law guarantees residents of the state will remain insured, said Donald Berwick, a former acting administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Obama and a possible 2014 gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts.
In other states, those would qualify as pre-existing conditions that would enable health insurance companies to refuse future coverage for the victims, he said. That will change when the health insurance market reforms under Obama's health care reform law are enforced next year, Berwick noted.
.
Boston Bomb Victims To Benefit From 'Romneycare' Health Reforms
The victims of the Boston Marathon bombing have endured pain and injury but they may be spared further insult in the form of huge medical bills, thanks to Massachusetts' unique health care system.
Owing to a 2006 health care reform law enacted by then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R), just 4 percent of Massachusetts residents were uninsured in 2011, according to census data. And many of those bombing victims who lack health insurance, including those visiting Boston from out of state, may qualify for financial assistance from a "Romneycare" safety-net program.
<snip>
The most severely injured bombing victims likely will suffer lifelong health problems or disabilities as a result of their injuries, and Massachusetts law guarantees residents of the state will remain insured, said Donald Berwick, a former acting administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Obama and a possible 2014 gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts.
In other states, those would qualify as pre-existing conditions that would enable health insurance companies to refuse future coverage for the victims, he said. That will change when the health insurance market reforms under Obama's health care reform law are enforced next year, Berwick noted.
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