Affordable Care Act Update

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In 2006, Massachusetts began requiring health insurance coverage for nearly all residents – years before the rest of the country. Now a study shows that after the reforms went into effect, the state saw a 2.9 per cent decrease in the death rate through 2010. According to the study, which was led by Benjamin Sommers of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, that translates to around 320 lives saved every year. The finding hints at the benefits that may soon be felt in the rest of the US, where since October millions of Americans have signed up for insurance under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is modelled on the Massachusetts system.

Hundreds of lives saved by universal healthcare in US - health - 05 May 2014 - New Scientist