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Mitt Romney Returns to Massachusetts as a GOP Outlier: "Republicans Now Salute and Do What the President Tells them."
State leaders say the law helped push coverage above 97% and became the model for the Affordable Care Act.
On Monday, Governor Maura Healey joined former governors Mitt Romney and Deval Patrick at Faneuil Hall to mark the 20th anniversary of the health care reform law known as "Romneycare."
Signed on April 12, 2006, the legislation expanded insurance coverage through Medicaid expansion, subsidized private plans, and an individual mandate, becoming the blueprint for the Affordable Care Act.
Today, more than 97% of Massachusetts residents have coverage, though health care expenditures per person increased 5.7% from 2023 to 2024, exceeding the state's 3.6% benchmark.
Despite these gains, about 30,000 people in Massachusetts lost coverage after President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act removed subsidies for lawfully present immigrants.
Healey urged residents to "meet the moment once again" to tackle rising costs, as advocates project more than 200,000 low-income residents could lose MassHealth coverage in coming years due to federal changes.