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Universal Healthcare Coverage and Subjective Wellbeing: Evidence From Massachusetts Healthcare Reform

In 2006, the state of Massachusetts sanctioned the individual health insurance mandate and the expansion of health insurance coverage through Healthcare Reform Law. I design a quasi-experimental study using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data sets from 2005 through 2010. In this study, I aim to analyze the trends in self-reported wellbeing before and after the Massachusetts healthcare reform. As most of the provisions took effect in late 2006, I consider 2007 as the first year post healthcare reform. I consider Connecticut as well as Other New England States including Connecticut (ONES) as control states where no healthcare reform was enacted. The difference-in-difference estimation approach is used to perform multivariate analysis. I find that individuals belonging to the state of Massachusetts post healthcare reform experienced significant improvement in the self-reported wellbeing relative to those living in Connecticut and ONES. This finding may results from the expansion of health insurance coverage, which reduces the financial stress and improves the mental health and wellbeing particularly among the low income families.