Massachusetts health care reform law lowered death rates, study finds

Providing greater access to health insurance led to a decline in deaths, according to a new study of Massachusetts' health care reform law.

Massachusetts passed comprehensive health care reform in 2006, providing a model for the Affordable Care Act -- dubbed by some as "Obamacare." In the four years after the law took effect in Massachusetts, deaths from all causes dropped nearly 3 percent compared with similar counties in states without health reform, the study found.

Researchers estimate that the Massachusetts law prevented 320 deaths a year. That works out to one life saved for every 830 people who gained insurance.

The study, published in the May 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine also noted a 4.5 percent decline in deaths from preventable and treatable conditions, such as cancer, infections and heart disease.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/massachusetts-health-care-reform-law-lowered-death-rates-study-finds/