In its struggles to provide affordable medical coverage to all state citizens, Massachusetts may have hit a serious snag. As it's reported by the Kaiser Daily Report, Massachusetts health insurance has been predicted to grow in cost and double in enrollment by 2011, which "would far outstrip the original plans" for the program "largely because state officials underestimated the number of uninsured residents."

The plan was designed for those who don't qualify for subsidized plans like Medicaid, but can't afford medical coverage and don't get offered such coverage by their employer. In the last 15 years, as the costs of health care have exploded, more and more people have fallen into this gap.

Massachusetts health insurance was supposed to help fill this gap, but now it's looking like there won't be enough funding to keep the program running for long. Two unforeseen problems contributed to the funding shortfall: The state had expected to shift money from no-cost care for the uninsured to insurance subsidies, but the decline in charity care has been slower than expected; and the state had expected to collect tens of millions of dollars from the penalty on businesses that do not offer health coverage to workers, but it's really only going to collect about $5 million this year.

What does this mean for Massachusetts health insurance? It's hard to tell right now. Perhaps a scramble to rearrange the state budget can ease some of the burden. But one thing's still certain, state residents need to shop around aggressively for the best plan they can afford, and be ready for anything.