Massachusetts hasimplemented a individual mandate coupled with a mandatory basic health insurance package. They have also expanded state run health care programs for low income workers and retirees and implemented a health care exchange called The Commonwealth Connector. The thought is that by requiring individuals to either get health insurance or pay a fine that insurance companies would have larger risk pools to work with and could therefore drop premium prices. The Connector is aimed at helping those who are self employed or unemployed or otherwise ineligible for employer based insurance to pool together to get lower premiums. While the MA system has dramatically reduced the number of uninsured, health care costs have skyrocketed putting the state in a dire economic situation The state recently had to raise the sales tax to compensate for health care cost increases.