News You Can Use: Mass. employers, employees rate year-one of health reform

In the current issue of the journal Health Affairs, a study reports on the response of Massachusetts employers and employees to the first year of the state's controversial health reform law, which largely mandated coverage for Bay State residents.

Although it is commonly feared that such mandates would lead employers to eliminate health benefits, the study finds no such evidence. In fact, over the course of the study, the percentage of Massachusetts workers at companies offering coverage held constant at 90%, and the share of employees working at small firms that offered health benefits actually increased from 72% to 76%.