Report: Hurdles remain to full health care in Massachusetts

Boston — On Beacon Hill and in Washington, there are few issues thornier than health care: how many people are insured, how many aren’t, how many have some insurance but not enough, and what’s the best way to plug all those holes.

A decade after the state’s landmark 2006 health care law took effect, Massachusetts is still grappling with those issues. The latest checkup came in the form of a report released this week by the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis.

The report includes some warning signs as the lawmakers hope to prevent Massachusetts — with its highestin-the-nation rate of insured residents — from slipping back.

The annual report had some reassuring news.

The rate of uninsured residents in Massachusetts during 2017 was 3.7 percent. That’s not zero, but it’s still well ahead of the 8.8 percent rate of uninsured for the rest of the country based on early estimates.

But there were some statistics to keep an eye on.

One of the more concerning was the rate of so-called “underinsured” residents. The report defines the underinsured as residents who reported spending 10 percent or more of their family income on out-of-pocket health care expenses. The report found almost one out of every 10 Massachusetts residents remains underinsured.

While the vast majority of residents of all racial backgrounds were insured in Massachusetts during the past 12 months, there were some persistent disparities.

White residents had the highest rate of insurance for all 12 months at nearly 95 percent, compared with 84 percent of black residents and 79 percent of Hispanic residents.

The report also tried to determine who had no insurance during 2017. Four percent of Hispanics fell into that group, compared with 1 percent of white residents and less than 1 percent of black residents.

Overall, the report found that uninsured residents were more likely than the general population to be male, single without children, Hispanic and low income.

While more than 82 percent of respondents reported having made a doctor visit over the past 12 months, there were still some concerns about access to health care services.