CHIR Faculty

Association Health Plans: Maintaining State Authority is Critical to Avoid Fraud, Insolvency, and Market Instability

Posted January 26, 2018 by CHIR Faculty

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration issued a proposed regulation that would allow individuals and small employers to more easily purchase health insurance across state lines through professional or trade associations. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Kevin Lucia and Sabrina Corlette examine the proposal’s impact on consumers and insurance markets, and discuss implications for state regulatory autonomy.

Association Health Plan Proposed Rule: Summary and Implications for States

Posted January 23, 2018 by CHIR Faculty

In a recent brief for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Health & Value Strategies program, CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette provides an overview of proposed federal rules expanding the availability of association health plans and assesses the implications for state insurance regulation.

Affordable Care Act Navigators: Unexpected Success During 2018 Enrollment Season Shouldn’t Obscure Challenges Ahead

Posted January 12, 2018 by CHIR Faculty

Heading into open enrollment for 2018 marketplace coverage, experts predicted far fewer people would sign up for coverage. Despite the obstacles working against a successful open enrollment, sign-ups came close to last year’s tally: federally facilitated marketplaces (FFMs) logged 8.8 million plan selections, including close to 2.5 million new consumers, by the close of open enrollment on December 15th, nearing the 9.2 million plan selection from the previous year in just half the time. CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe and JoAnn Volk take a look at what explains the better-than-expected results.

Research Update: Health Care Expenses from Families’ Budgets to Federal Budgets

Posted January 11, 2018 by CHIR Faculty

Recent research highlights how health insurance coverage eases financial pressure on families’ budgets, particularly for low-income families. Karina Wagnerman from our sister center, the Center for Children & Families, highlights the findings from two key studies.

Insurer Participation in ACA Marketplaces: Federal Uncertainty Triggers Diverging Business Strategies

Posted January 5, 2018 by CHIR Faculty

A reliable indicator of health insurance markets’ stability is insurer participation, including the number of insurers that elect to sell individual plans and whether they participate over subsequent years. In a recent analysis for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts looked at insurer participation in the state-based Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces from 2014 to 2018, which sheds light on how state marketplaces have maintained competition despite uncertainty about the law’s future.

2018 Outlook: What Health Insurance Experts at CHIR Will be Watching

Posted January 3, 2018 by CHIR Faculty

Last year brought a lot of surprises in health care policy, and 2018 is shaping up to be more of the same. Here health insurance experts at CHIR, including Sabrina Corlette, Kevin Lucia, JoAnn Volk, Justin Giovannelli, and Dania Palanker share the policies and market trends that they’ll be watching in the year to come.

Marketplace Plan Discontinued? Options after Open Enrollment

Posted December 20, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

Blink and you may have missed it – open enrollment for HealthCare.gov was much shorter this year and ended on December 15th. But many people will have extra time to sign up if they’re in a plan that’s being discontinued. CHIR’s Sandy Ahn answers some frequently asked questions about consumers’ options if they’re in this circumstance.

New Rules Pending on Short-Term Health Plans: Impacts for Consumers, Markets and Potential State Responses

Posted December 8, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

New rules are due any day now in response to President Trump’s October 13, 2017 executive order to expand access to short-term limited-duration health plans that don’t have to comply with Affordable Care Act protections. The impact of the proposed new rules were debated at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ December meeting, as well as potential state policy options to protect consumers and stabilize their markets. CHIR recently outlined some in an issue brief, and we share some highlights here.

The Open Enrollment Clock is Ticking: Drop (what you’re doing), Shop, and Enroll

Posted December 4, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

Open enrollment for 2018 Affordable Care Act coverage ends on December 15th. While in the midst of the holiday rush some of you might be tempted to procrastinate, CHIR’s Sandy Ahn outlines three really important reasons to get get moving and shop for a health plan on healthcare.gov.