Health Care

Ensuring that all residents of Massachusetts have access to affordable, quality health care, Senator Murray has championed health care reform, fought to provide mental health services and worked to make sure that children receive the health care they need.

Senator Murray's efforts to improve health care for all Massachusetts residents include:

• Crafting and working to pass historic health care reform legislation. This first-of-its kind reform aims to lower the cost of insurance coverage by promoting market reforms and investments in Medicaid reimbursement and preventative care.
• Ensuring that the historic health care reform legislation recognizes employer responsibility with a fair share assessment and individual responsibility by mandating coverage, with the goal of providing every resident with access to affordable coverage. As a result of this reform nearly 98% of Massachusetts residents have health care coverage.

• Working to provide opportunities for seniors to enroll in the Prescription Advantage wrap-around program which fills in the gap in the federal prescription drug coverage so seniors aren't paying more out-of-pocket expenses.
• Sponsoring mandatory hearing tests for newborns, which will save the state millions of dollars in health care and special education costs by immediately identifying hearing problems.
• Being a leading voice in support of Mental Health Parity legislation, which requires private insurers to cover health services for mental illnesses in the same manner as a physical ailment. Senator Murray persuaded the Department of Mental Health to provide services and beds to children with mental illness on Cape Cod, so families do not have to drive to Boston or the North Shore with an ill child.
• Ensuring that every resident has access to complete health care by restoring dental and eyeglass benefits to MassHealth recipients.
• Providing every child in Massachusetts with access to health care by increasing the eligibility for children under MassHealth.