1 Dissertation Working Title Provide the working title for the study you plan to conduct. This should be no more than 12 words. Proposed Working Title-The impact educational leadership has on retaining minority young men. (Please change if it needs more clarity-I really want to focus on minority young men in high school). Answer the questions based on the working title. Problem Statement Provide one to two paragraphs that demonstrates a review of recent scholarly research that has relevance to the student’s topic and field of specialization. Provide three to five current key citations and ensure the topic fits your specialization (Education Leadership/Administration). In addition, the following is required based on the type of study: 1. Dissertation: Construct a logical argument, with supporting evidence, that there is a current gap in the research literature about practice that is meaningful to the area of professional practice. Purpose Statement Present a concise, one-paragraph statement on the overall purpose or intention of the study, which serves as the connection between the problem being addressed and the focus of the study. · In quantitative studies, state what needs to be studied by describing two or more factors (variables) and a conjectured relationship among them related to the identified gap in practice or problem. Possible Research Question(s) List possible research questions that show potential to address your stated problem, which will lead to the development of what needs to be done in this study and how it will be accomplished. Recall that: · The research question should not be too broad or too narrow. · The research question must be researchable. · The research question should be neutral and not leading. · The research question must be directly investigable using the research tools at hand. · The research question avoids yes/no questions no matter what the approach. · Research questions often begin with “How” or “What.” References Include APA-formatted references for key research reviewed for the problem statement. Running head: MASSACHUSETTS’ HEALTHCARE REFORMS 1 MASSACHUSETTS’ HEALTHCARE REFORMS 3 Memo To: Prof. Thomas Smith From: Student- Jane Doe Reference: Health Care Policy Date: March 18, 2018 Subject: Massachusetts’ Healthcare Reform Act Massachusetts’ Healthcare Reform Act Rationale Massachusetts State is among the states that have made a number of attempts aimed at reforming the state's healthcare system to make access to quality healthcare available for its residents. Recently in 2006, Massachusetts passed the Healthcare Reform Act, which was later, signed into law by former Governor Mitt Romney (Van der Wees et al., 2013). The rationale for this healthcare reform was to provide near-universal health insurance coverage for Massachusetts’ residents. Adoption of the Reform The Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Act was passed by the St.

1. 1
Dissertation Working Title
Provide the working title for the study you plan to conduct. This
should be no more than 12 words.
Proposed Working Title-The impact educational leadership has
on retaining minority young men. (Please change if it needs
more clarity-I really want to focus on minority young men in
high school).
Answer the questions based on the working title.
Problem Statement
Provide one to two paragraphs that demonstrates a review of
recent scholarly research that has relevance to the student’s
topic and field of specialization. Provide three to five current
key citations and ensure the topic fits your specialization
(Education Leadership/Administration). In addition, the
following is required based on the type of study:
1. Dissertation: Construct a logical argument, with supporting
evidence, that there is a current gap in the research literature
about practice that is meaningful to the area of professional
practice.
Purpose Statement
Present a concise, one-paragraph statement on the overall
purpose or intention of the study, which serves as the

2. connection between the problem being addressed and the focus
of the study.
· In quantitative studies, state what needs to be studied by
describing two or more factors (variables) and a conjectured
relationship among them related to the identified gap in practice
or problem.
Possible Research Question(s)
List possible research questions that show potential to address
your stated problem, which will lead to the development of what
needs to be done in this study and how it will be accomplished.
Recall that:
· The research question should not be too broad or too narrow.
· The research question must be researchable.
· The research question should be neutral and not leading.
· The research question must be directly investigable using the
research tools at hand.
· The research question avoids yes/no questions no matter what
the approach.
· Research questions often begin with “How” or “What.”
References
Include APA-formatted references for key research reviewed for
the problem statement.
Running head: MASSACHUSETTS’ HEALTHCARE REFORMS
1
MASSACHUSETTS’ HEALTHCARE REFORMS 3
Memo
To: Prof. Thomas Smith

3. From: Student- Jane Doe
Reference: Health Care Policy
Date: March 18, 2018
Subject: Massachusetts’ Healthcare Reform Act
Massachusetts’ Healthcare Reform Act
Rationale
Massachusetts State is among the states that have made a
number of attempts aimed at reforming the state's healthcare
system to make access to quality healthcare available for its
residents. Recently in 2006, Massachusetts passed the
Healthcare Reform Act, which was later, signed into law by
former Governor Mitt Romney (Van der Wees et al., 2013). The
rationale for this healthcare reform was to provide near-
universal health insurance coverage for Massachusetts’
residents.
Adoption of the Reform
The Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Act was passed by the
State legislators after years of negotiation between Mitt
Romney and the legislators with a compromise reached in 2006
resulting in the enactment of the reform that was effectively
signed into law by Romney on 12 April 206. The reform has
made several changes to its healthcare system in a move aimed
at achieving a near-universal healthcare coverage for the
residents of the state. The first change was made to the state's
Medicaid program that was broadened by providing a
MassHealth waiver, extending health insurance coverage to
children in low-income families with up to 300% of the federal
poverty level (FPL) (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012).
Massachusetts created what is called Commonwealth Care,
which provides the residents of the state with access to
subsidized health insurance for eligible individuals with
earnings below 300% of FPL. Under this new healthcare reform,
individuals with income below 150% of FPL also have the
option of selecting a plan without a monthly premium and low-
cost sharing. However, eligible individuals with earnings falling

4. between 150-300% PL are subsidized by the state using a
sliding scale.
The Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Act also saw the state
expand its Insurance Partnership Program by providing
incentives and subsidies to the employers to give and workers to
enroll in the state's employer-sponsored insurance. In this
respect, Massachusetts State subsidized insurance costs for the
workers in the state who would otherwise be eligible for
programs subsidized by the government. However, small
businesses are only eligible for up to $1,000 in support per
qualified worker who falls below the 300% FPL (Van der Wees
et al., 2013). Under the program, the state government pays the
portion of qualified workers' premiums that is equal to what the
employees would be expected to pay if employees were on a
subsidized plan. Additionally, under this new healthcare reform,
any employer in the state who fails to provide health insurance
to its workers is expected to pay what is called a ‘fair share'
assessment to the government of up to $295 per worker every
year (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012).
The reform also created what is called the Commonwealth
Health Insurance Connector whose primary aim is to link those
without access to employer-sponsored insurance and companies
with 50 or fewer employees that provide insurance coverage for
its workers. According to this health reform, small businesses
with 50 of fewer employees have the option of buying insurance
coverage on their own or via the Connector (Rapoza, 2012).
Funding Structure
Although Romney and the state legislators agreed on most of
the components of the bill, agreeing on how this healthcare
reform would be financed was a major issue as it was clear that
financing the reform would result in an increase in healthcare
cost. However, following a compromise that was reached, the
state legislators agreed that the reform would be financed by
individuals, employers and the government. First, the
Massachusetts Healthcare Reform is funded by the existing

5. $320 million obtained in hospital assessments and covered
levies (Van der Wees et al., 2013). Second, the Massachusetts
state legislators agreed that the health reform would also be
financed through by federal safety-net payments of $610 million
as well as federal matching payments on the MassHealth
expansion. Additionally, part of the money to be used in
financing the health care reform is to come from rate increases
projected at $299 million. Further, $295 fair assessment for
employers per employee and the Free Rider Surcharge also
generates revenue used to finance the ambitious health care
reform in Massachusetts (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012).
Impacts
The impacts of this Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Act have
been so profound. The first major achievement of this
healthcare reform is that it has increased access to affordable
coverage to residents of Massachusetts. Because the law
requires all residents of Massachusetts to have a health
insurance or pay a fine, the law had seen more that 99% of the
residents of the state now get health insurance coverage up from
90% before this healthcare reform was introduced. According to
Rapoza (2012), prior to 2006, more than 24% of low-income
residents of Massachusetts had no health insurance. However,
by 2012, only 8% of low-income adults in the state were still
without healthcare coverage. Overall, about 650,000
Massachusetts residents who lacked health insurance are now
covered.
Another significant achievement of the Massachusetts health
insurance is that it has increased insurance status of higher
income persons for the self-employed who did not qualify for
MassHealth. According to Urban Institute, the population of
higher income earners who were without health insurance before
2006 has dropped from 5% then to below 1% three years after
the reform (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012).
The only notable shortcoming of this healthcare reform is the
cost burden associated with its implementation. The health cost
in the state has risen to a historic high following the

6. introduction of this healthcare reform was introduced. By 2007,
just one year after the reform, Massachusetts healthcare
expenditure accounted for about 15.2% of its GDP, which is
higher than the nation's average of 13.7% as a whole (Kaiser
Family Foundation, 2012).
References
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2012). Massachusetts health care
reform: Six years later. Retrieved from
https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/831
1.pdf
Rapoza, K. (2012, Jan. 20). If ObamaCare is so bad, how does
RomneyCare survive? Forbes p. 1
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/01/20/romney-
care-massachusetts-healthcare-reform/#3d6701195b00
Van der Wees, P. J., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Ayanian, J. Z. (2013).
Improvements in health status after Massachusetts health care
reform. The Milbank Quarterly, 91(4), 663–689.