Author Archive: CHIR Faculty

Looking Under the Hood: “Enhanced” Rate Review to Improve Affordability

A handful of states are working to improve health insurance affordability by boosting their insurance department’s rate review authority and empowering regulators to look “under the hood” at the prices commercial insurance companies negotiate for health care goods and services. In a recently released report, CHIR experts share findings from a 50-state assessment of rate review programs.

Navigator Guide FAQs of the Week: Post-Enrollment Issues

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplaces has ended in most states, with a record number of people selecting a Marketplace plan for 2024. This week, we’re highlighting answers to common post-enrollment questions from our Navigator Resource Guide.

Step-by-Step: Congressional Proposals Could Help Unlock Information Key to Curbing U.S. Health Care Spending

In recent years, outpatient care has contributed considerably to growth in U.S. health care spending. Efforts to curb outpatient spending have been stymied by fundamental problems connecting data on sites of care, providers, and specific charges, but a bill that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives could provide new information necessary to craft reforms and slow spending growth.

Navigator Guide FAQs of the Week: Wrapping Up Open Enrollment

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplaces is coming to a close. In most states, January 16 is the last day to sign up for a 2024 plan. This week, we’re highlighting frequently asked questions from CHIR’s Navigator Resource Guide concerning the end of open enrollment.

Implementing the No Surprises Act: What We Know from Early Complaint Data

The No Surprises Act (NSA) provides comprehensive protections from many of the most prevalent forms of surprise medical billing, and a new process for determining out-of-network provider reimbursement aims to control health care costs by limiting insurer payments for surprise bills. It remains to be seen if the new federal law—implemented only last year—will achieve these goals. Two recently released reports provide some of the first indicators of the NSA’s impact.

Navigator Guide FAQs of the Week: The Risks of Buying Coverage Outside the Marketplace

As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time to think about health insurance for 2024. Consumers searching for a 2024 plan online may come across products that do not have to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) consumer protections. This week, we’re highlighting frequently asked questions from our Navigator Resource Guide concerning the risks of buying coverage outside the ACA’s Marketplace.

What States Are Doing to Keep People Covered as Medicaid Continuous Coverage Enrollment Unwinds

Several state-based Marketplaces have deployed innovative programs to keep people covered during the Medicaid unwinding. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Rachel Swindle and Sabrina Corlette assess the status of these programs and discuss the urgent need for more timely and accurate data on people transitioning from Medicaid to other forms of coverage.

Navigator Guide FAQs of the Week: Marketplace Coverage Issues for LGBTQI+ Individuals

It’s time to sign up for 2024 coverage on the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplaces. This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is spotlighting how the Marketplaces can serve LGBTQI+ individuals, a community that has historically faced discriminatory barriers to health insurance and health care. Here are a few frequently asked questions (FAQs) from CHIR’s Navigator Resource Guide about some Marketplace coverage issues that LGBTQI+ individuals may face.

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.