Author Archive: CHIR Faculty

Seeing Fraud and Misleading Marketing, States Warn Consumers About Alternative Health Insurance Products

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States are warning consumers of fraud and about the inadequate nature of some insurance products being sold that masquerade as health coverage. Over the last year, we identified alerts or press releases issued by 15 states warning consumers to be on their guard against deceptive marketing pitches for these products. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To The Point blog, CHIR experts spoke with regulators in five of these states to better understand what was behind these warnings and get insight into potential pitfalls for consumers.

New Georgetown CHIR Report Finds Ability of Insurers, Employers to Respond to Provider Consolidation is Limited

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A new Georgetown CHIR report synthesizing the case studies of 6 health care markets finds that insurers and employer-purchasers have limited tools and incentives to effectively counter the market clout of increasingly consolidated provider systems. With a lack of market-based solutions, the report raises questions about whether and what policy interventions might be needed.

New Georgetown CHIR Report: In Trump Era, States Revisit the Benefits and Risks of Running Their Own Health Care Marketplace

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Half a dozen states have announced they will transition from HealthCare.gov to their own, state-run health insurance marketplaces. In a new report with the Urban Institute, CHIR researchers assess states’ reasons for making the switch, risks and benefits, and considerations for policymakers in other states contemplating a similar move.

Comparing Federal Legislation on Surprise Billing

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Legislation to protect consumers from surprise medical bills is advancing on a bipartisan basis in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To The Point blog, CHIR experts provide an updated analysis of the bills and compare key provisions.

CHIR Launches New Resource Center for Policymakers on Surprise Medical Bills

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CHIR experts have launched a new project to provide policymakers with a dedicated, independent resource for unbiased and comprehensive information on the issue of surprise medical bills. Leveraging our experience advising state insurance regulators and monitoring surprise medical bill legislation in all 50 states and before Congress, our goal is to help policymakers protect consumers, promote affordability, and adopt comprehensive surprise medical bill protections.

DOJ’s Proposed Remedy in Texas v. United States Is an Unrealistic Solution

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In supplemental briefings to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Department of Justice recently proposed that the Affordable Care Act be struck down in the eighteen plaintiff states bringing suit in Texas v. United States, but upheld in all other states. CHIR’s Emily Curran, Dania Palanker, and Sabrina Corlette explain why this “solution” would upend our system of employer-based coverage and is illogical given the ACA’s national reforms.

New Addition to Advocate Toolkit Highlights Options for Protecting Consumers Amidst Expansion of Short-Term Plans

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In July, a federal district court judge upheld the Trump administration’s rule expanding availability of short-term, limited duration insurance, or short-term plans, which do not have to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections. With the help of CHIR experts, Community Catalyst has published another resource for state advocates and policymakers, providing an overview of short-term plans, insight on unscrupulous sales practices that leave consumers at risk, and state regulatory options.

New Resources Arm Advocates with Tools to Defend Essential Health Benefits, Pre-Existing Condition Protections

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On July 9, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Texas v. United States, the court case challenging the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) constitutionality. The litigation is ongoing, but if the plaintiffs prevail, the law could be overturned in its entirety. With the federal court case looming, state policymakers and advocates are looking for ways to preserve access to coverage in the absence of the ACA’s protections, including steps to codify the law’s key provisions into state law. To aid in these efforts, Community Catalyst has teamed up with CHIR experts to create two new guides for its health insurance reform toolkit: The Advocate’s Guide to Pre-Existing Condition Protections and The Advocate’s Guide to Essential Health Benefits.

States Are Taking New Steps to Protect Consumers from Balance Billing, But Federal Action Is Necessary to Fill Gaps

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This year has seen a flurry of state-level action to protect patients from surprise balance billing. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Jack Hoadley, Kevin Lucia and Maanasa Kona take a closer look at the latest set of state bills to tackle the issue. They find that lawmakers’ approaches to solving this problem are evolving.

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.