West Springfield, MA
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Healthcare impacts every American, but can be difficult to navigate. Massachusetts leads the nation in healthcare coverage and quality of care, but that doesn’t make the topic of health insurance any less confusing.
“Debate in Washington about the certainty of the affordable care act has contributed I think to some of the confusion that surrounds it,” said Congressman Richard Neal. He said 100 percent of children and 97.3 percent of adults are covered by insurance in the Commonwealth. But, he agreed with local business leaders that it’s still very costly for individuals to enroll in their own insurance plans. He spoke at the Western Massachusetts Municipal Forum hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
The focus of this forum was the burden of healthcare costs on municipalities. For example, representatives asked specific questions about Medicare and how to pay for all town employees, but they also discussed public health concerns that are costly like the opioid crisis.
“It’s to really help educate people around healthcare, how the healthcare works, how costs are established, what we can do to cut those costs,” said Jeff Bellows, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
Through education, Bellows said enrollees will know what’s covered by their plan. As for the future of healthcare, Congressman Neal said that debate will continue in Washington, as it has for decades.
