Statement of Robert Restuccia, Executive Director of Community Catalyst, a Boston-based national consumer health advocacy organization

(BOSTON)— “As a national consumer health advocacy organization based in Boston, we know from our work on the Massachusetts health reform law that the first month of enrollment got off to a very slow start: just 123 people enrolled – only 0.3 percent of the total number of people who ultimately enrolled in coverage. The number of people enrolled in federal and state-based marketplaces this past month represents approximately 1.5 percent of the 7 million people expected to enroll in coverage through the ACA. Even though we had hoped more people would have enrolled, this is still a higher percentage relative to Massachusetts.  It’s also important to remember that these numbers do not include a full picture of enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP, and we expect those numbers to be much higher nationwide.

 “If we had used that the first month of results from Massachusetts health reform to draw conclusions about its ultimate success, we would have been way off the mark. Seven years later, 96 percent of Massachusetts residents have health care coverage, and the law enjoys tremendous support.

“As strong supporters of the Affordable Care Act, we’re confident that years from now people will remember that the country overcame tremendous obstacles to greatly improve our health care system and give millions of Americans access to quality affordable health care.

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About Community Catalyst

Community Catalyst is a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1998 with the belief that affordable quality health care should be accessible to everyone. We work in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic foundations to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.communitycatalyst.org.