This May, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe reviewed new studies on the effects of silver loading in the Affordable Care Act-compliant individual market, disparities in mental health access, hospital prices, and employees’ insurance cost burdens. Continue reading
April showers bring May flowers, and plenty of health policy research. This month, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe reviews studies on the burden of health care costs on families, the affordability of employer-sponsored insurance, the effects of hospital concentration on insurance premiums, and why Medicaid insurers hesitate to sell plans on the Affordable Care Act’s individual market. Continue reading
On April 18, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and insurance rules in the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for the 2020 plan year. To gauge stakeholder reactions, CHIR reviewed a sample of these comments. In the third and final of our blog series, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe summarizes responses from a selection of consumer advocates. Continue reading
Spring has arrived, and the research is blooming! This March, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe was buzzing around studies on direct enrollment, balance billing from air ambulance rides, affordability for middle-income consumers, and the roles of assisters and support tools. Continue reading
On a chilly March Tuesday in Washington, DC, with the stroke of just 22 pens, health care as we know it in the United States was changed, and you were officially signed into law. For your ninth birthday, we want to give thanks for the gifts you’ve given us over the years. Continue reading
In October, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule that aims to expand the “flexibility and use” of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). To understand reactions to the proposal, CHIR reviewed a sample of comments from state officials, insurers, consumer advocates, and employer, broker and benefit advisor groups. In Part 4 of this blog series, we highlight comments from six consumer and patient advocates and employee unions. Continue reading
For February’s Research Round Up, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe focuses on five studies on health care spending trends, surprise medical bills, and individual market claims denials and appeals. Continue reading
For the January Research Round Up, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe goes over new research that examines the root of high health care spending in the US, the effects of eliminating the individual mandate penalty in California, insurer participation in the individual market, and characteristics of the uninsured population across the country. Continue reading
Last year, we talked with Navigators to learn about how they reached consumers despite major funding cuts. In light of a number of new policy changes and further funding decreases, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe checked in with Navigators and assisters from five states on how they fared in this year’s Open Enrollment, and the challenges ahead. Continue reading
Many people make New Year’s resolutions, with popular ones being to get healthy and save money. In that spirit, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe highlights three December studies that focus on families’ spending on health care and a new federal proposal to encourage the use of health reimbursement accounts. Continue reading