Between 27,000 and 40,000 children in Massachusetts who had any limited health insurance coverage or not any at all on Saturday became qualified for subsidized insurance when the state implemented the first provisions of its universal health insurance law, the Boston Herald reports. Another 600,000 adults who are covered under Mass Health, the state's Medicaid plan, on Saturday had their payback expanded to comprise dental care, chiropractic services, orthotic shoes and eye glasses. Budget cuts in 2002 had eliminated coverage for those services (Brodkin, Boston Herald, 6/30).

Romney in April signed into law a bill, which aims to enlarge health care coverage to nearly all of the state's uninsured residents. The bill would need all residents to purchase health insurance by July 1, 2007, and would make a low-cost, state-subsidized health insurance program for residents with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/6).

In related news, state officials on Friday planned exemptions from a regulation that needs businesses with 10 or more employees to offer their workers health insurance or pay a $295-per-employee annual fee, the Boston Globe reports. Under the exemption, businesses with 25% of their workers sign up for a company's insurance plan or the company pays one-third of the premiums for an individual's coverage will not be subject to the fee (Krasner, Boston Globe, 7/1).