Like a Car? The Massachusetts Model of Health Care

As President Obama and Congress work to reform health care, The Takeaway has been looking at possible models, at home and abroad, that could inform the debate. One possibility is the Massachusetts model for universal care. In April 2006, the Massachusetts legislature approved a bill that required all residents to purchase health insurance or face legal penalties, which made it the first state to tackle the problem of incomplete medical coverage by treating patients the same way it does car owners. Joining us to explain how this plan works, and how it would fare nationwide, is Trudy Lieberman. She directs the health and medicine reporting program at the City University of New York. She is also a longtime contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review, and has been following Massachusetts closely since 2006 when the sweeping reform was enacted.