At Health Care For All’s Helpline, we have heard from numerous would-be applicants who refuse to sign up for state health insurance programs because they are concerned that MassHealth may recover assets from their estate. We want to get the message out that this requirement does not apply to Commonwealth Care members.
The dreaded Individual Mandate Call (IMC) usually begins, "I'm uninsured. I heard that a new law says that everyone in Massachusetts has to have health insurance by July 1st or they could get fined on their taxes." My fellow Helpline Counselors and I spend our days answering IMCs (over 800 last week between the four of us). Attempting to offer callers some sort of consolation when it appears that they may be penalized by the impending individual mandate has become a new challenge in recent weeks.
