Paul,

The best summary of the Massachusetts legislation is here.
The bill requires everyone in Massachusetts to get health insurance,
with some allowance for individuals to use pretax dollars and
additional subsidies for those with lower incomes. Massachusetts faced
losing federal Medicaid dollars if the legislature did not figure out a
way to deal with the uninsured, who are currently covered by a state
pool for the uninsured. Residents will have to report what health
inusrance they have on their state income tax return and face a fine if
they don’t have a policy.

Gov. Mitt Romney faced some really bad alternatives, such as completely placing the onus on employers. The
current bill still requires employers with 11 or more employees to
provide health insurance or pay a $295 fine per employee. But Gov.
Romney can eliminate the employer requirement with a line-item veto.