''It's all tied to the cost of health insurance."

US study finds rise in state's uninsured
Trend underlines need for reform, officials say
By Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe Staff, August 31, 2005

The number of Massachusetts residents without health insurance jumped about 10 percent last year, surpassing the growth in the uninsured nationally and raising concerns whether climbing private health insurance premiums are shutting out middle-income workers.

The federal Census Bureau reported yesterday that the number of uninsured residents in Massachusetts grew to 748,000 last year, up by 66,000 people from 2003. Massachusetts healthcare organizations and the state have estimated a smaller number of uninsured -- between 460,000 and 532,000 residents last year.

But consumer advocates and Governor Mitt Romney's administration said that the underlying trend in the Census Bureau's figures is probably accurate.''It's a huge increase and unfortunately it's not a surprise," said John McDonough, executive director of a Boston-based advocacy group, Health Care for All. ''It's all tied to the cost of health insurance."

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