Author Archive: CHIR Faculty

HHS Approves Nation’s First Section 1332 Waiver for a Public Option–Style Health Care Plan in Colorado

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently approved a new Section 1332 waiver authorizing Colorado’s public option-style law. The waiver approval marks the first time the federal government has taken action to approve state legislation introducing new, more heavily regulated plans into Affordable Care Act marketplaces to compete against traditional plans. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts dive into the details of Colorado’s law and waiver, and what they mean for future state action. 

Delays Extending The American Rescue Plan’s Health Insurance Subsidies Will Raise Premiums And Reduce Coverage

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Congress has spent months debating an extension of enhanced premium tax credits enacted under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. However, as CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and the Urban Institute’s Jason Levitis discuss in this recent Health Affairs Forefront article, the clock is ticking. Continued delays would likely cause coverage losses and additional costs that wouldn’t be restored even if a subsidy extension is later enacted.

Improving Race and Ethnicity Data Collection: A First Step to Furthering Health Equity Through the State-Based Marketplaces

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The ACA’s marketplaces are working to advance health equity. State-based marketplaces are uniquely situated to improve health equity if they can close current gaps in race and ethnicity data. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Dania Palanker, Jalisa Clark, and Christine Monahan examine the landscape of marketplace race and ethnicity data, and detail strategies for the upcoming open enrollment period to improve data collection.

New CHIR Case Study Report Examines Policies to Expand Primary Care Access in Rural New Mexico

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In a new report published in collaboration with the Milbank Memorial Fund, CHIR researchers examined policy interventions to expand primary care access in rural Grant County, New Mexico. The authors evaluated stakeholder efforts to increase the number of primary clinicians, bring outpatient clinics to the community, make primary care affordable, and build relationships between providers and patients.

Standards for Provider Network Adequacy in Medicaid and the Marketplaces

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Beginning in 2023, CMS will require QHP provider networks for plans sold on the federal marketplace to meet minimum time-and-distance standards and, beginning in 2024, minimum standards for appointment wait times. CHIR joined with colleagues at the Georgetown Center for Children and Families to examine the new marketplace network adequacy standards and how they compare to Medicaid’s standards.

CHIR Launches New Resource Center for Policymakers on Public Option Proposals

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With the generous support of Arnold Ventures, CHIR experts have launched a new resource center and newsletter to provide policymakers with a dedicated, independent source of unbiased and comprehensive information on public health insurance options and related proposals that promote affordability and contain costs. Find out more.

What Four States Are Doing to Advance Health Equity in Marketplace Insurance Plans

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The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) led to historic reductions in racial and ethnic disparities related to health insurance coverage. However, equal access to health coverage is not enough to ensure health equity. In their latest issue brief for the Commonwealth Fund, Dania Palanker and Nia Denise Gooding examine how four state-based health insurance marketplaces have acted to reduce health inequity, and outline considerations for other state-based marketplaces developing a health equity strategy.

Fixing the Family Glitch: Federal Rules Aim to Improve Coverage Affordability for Working Families

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Roughly 5 million people are currently unable to access marketplace subsidies due to a flawed interpretation of the Affordable Care Act dubbed the “family glitch.” Last month, the Biden administration proposed new rules, grounded in a revised interpretation of the law, which would increase access to affordable coverage for families of low and moderate-income workers. Karen Davenport looks at the proposed regulatory fix and how it will impact consumers and other health insurance stakeholders.

Mitigating Coverage Loss When the Public Health Emergency Ends: The Role of the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces

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As many as 16 million people are expected to lose Medicaid once the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. One-third of these could be eligible for ACA marketplace plans. In their latest To the Point blog for the Commonwealth Fund, Sabrina Corlette and Maanasa Kona discuss strategies that marketplaces can deploy to help reduce the potential coverage loss and help consumers make a smooth transition.

New Georgetown Report on Medicaid and Marketplace Network Adequacy

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A recently published report from Georgetown’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms and Center for Children & Families finds significant differences in standards for network adequacy between Medicaid and Marketplace plans, as well as gaps in oversight. The authors share several recommendations for protecting enrollees’ timely access to health services.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the individual blog post authors and do not represent the views of Georgetown University, the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, any organization that the author is affiliated with, or the opinions of any other author who publishes on this blog.