Special Projects
Group Project
The Willing Uninsured
The Statehouse Program's special report for the Spring 2006 semester, The Willing Uninsured is a package of stories that examines the estimated 150,000 people in the state who have in the past rejected the chance to buy health insurance through their employer. They will be a key factor in the potential success -or failure- of the state's new ambitious healthcare plan.
The Uninsured - Main Story
At first glance, Sunny Buta would hardly seem key to the success of Massachusetts' new healthcare plan.The 40-year-old Watertown resident, who works as a $9-an-hour beauty advisor in a Brookline drug store, is one of the estimated 550,000 state residents who have no health insurance.
But more significantly, she is among the one third of those uninsured - a group estimated between 150,000 and 160,000 of mostly young, mostly healthy people - who have turned down the chance to buy insurance through their employers in the past.
If Buta and others of that group continue to opt out of the insurance system, it could mean trouble for the state's ambitious plan.
(1000 words. By The Boston University Statehouse Program)
The Way Insurance Works With the Willing Uninsured
The goal of Massachusetts' new health care reform is to provide low cost insurance policies that the average working adult can afford. But the success of the plan is a chicken-or-egg proposition.
(485 words. By Jenai Engelhard and Natalia Pelayo)
Free Care With Willing Uninsured
Amanda Simmons didn't worry about the costs of the procedures, biopsies and surgery she needed for a pre-cancerous condition. Although the Springfield video store manager didn't have health insurance, her medical costs were covered by the state's free care pool, a $700 million fund created to cover those not covered by insurance or Medicaid.
State officials hope Massachusetts' new healthcare program will eliminate much of the costs of free care by encouraging residents such as Simmons to get health insurance. If the plan works, it could mean less costs for the state's hospitals, insurers and taxpayers. (520 words. By Jessica Scarpati.)
Individual Projects
Still Running Despite Dire Prediction
On April 5, the Legislature voted down a proposal to put slot machines in the state's four race tracks amid warnings it would be the death knell for racing in Massachusetts.
Track owners and employees mobbed Beacon Hill to convince legislators that without the additional revenue from slots, the tracks would be forced to close, costing at least 5,000 jobs.
But the dire predictions have yet to come true.
Insurance Rates Soar with Expectations of More Storms
As an independent gubernatorial candidate, businessman Christy Mihos faces a challenge no Massachusetts politician has overcome in the past century -winning a governor's race as a third-party candidate.
Third-party candidates for governor traditionally have struggled in Massachusetts. The 2002 election saw three independent contenders garner a mere five percent of the vote.
Challenges to Lottery Distributions
A review of figures supplied by the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission shows that there are significant differences in the amounts of money given back to the 351 cities and towns in the state.
Contemplating Past and Future After Dropping From DA Race
Before Jarrett Barrios will talk about his reelection campaign for the Massachusetts’ Senate, before he’ll discuss his experiences as an openly gay politician, the many bills he’s written, sponsored and supported in his eight years as a state legislator or his student successes at Harvard and Georgetown, he needs to acknowledge the serendipity that brought him to New England.