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Massachusetts leaders mark 20 years of Chapter 58 and urge action on rising health-care costs
Summary
Governors, former officials and Health Connector leaders gathered at Faneuil Hall to mark the 20th anniversary of Chapter 58. Speakers praised the law's role in producing near-universal coverage and called for renewed, bipartisan efforts to address affordability and rising health-care costs.
FANEUIL HALL — Massachusetts leaders and people who helped craft and implement Chapter 58 gathered at Faneuil Hall on 2026-05-12 to mark the law’s 20th anniversary, praise its role in expanding coverage and press for new steps to rein in costs that now threaten affordability.
Audrey Morse Gestier, executive director of the Health Connector, said the law’s mix of market reforms, individual and employer responsibilities and the Connector itself helped drive a dramatic reduction in uninsurance: “By the fall of 2008, uninsurance among adults had dropped by nearly 70%,” she said, and the state now has one of the highest coverage rates in the nation at “over 97%.” Gestier thanked implementers, advocates and frontline assisters who helped put residents into coverage.
Governor Healey praised the bipartisan coalition behind the 2006 law while warning that the work is…
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