Massachusetts health reform reduces unpaid hospital visits

According to today's Boston Globe, the health care reform in Massachusetts that Mitt Romney signed into law before leaving office as Governor (of which he talked very little in his campaign) has led to a 16% drop in "free" visits to hospitals as 200,000 more residents of the Bay State now have health insurance. This is saving the taxpayers of Massachusetts $240 million a year in reimbursements to hospitals that treat the uninsured. However, the savings is not enough to cover the $869 million the state now pays in subsidies to help low income people purchase health insurance, also a key part of the health care reform enacted in Massachusetts.