Author Archive: CHIR Faculty

Stabilizing the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces: Lessons from Medicare

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In the late 1990s, Medicare officials faced decisions by insurers to cancel nearly half of their Medicare Advantage contracts. In a new issue brief for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Georgetown experts Jack Hoadley and Sabrina Corlette assess the policies and strategies adopted to manage instability in the Medicare Advantage and Part D markets and whether they can be used to stabilize the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Key takeaways from that issue brief are shared here.

Wisconsin’s Objection to Automatic Re-enrollment of Enrollees in Federally Facilitated Marketplaces

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The administration recently issued a proposal to smooth renewals for consumers affected by insurance company exits from the health insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Wisconsin, which has been slow to warm to the ACA, is objecting on grounds that it violates principles of “consumer choice.” CHIR’s Sandy Ahn breaks down Wisconsin’s objection and contends the administration’s proposal not only protects consumer choice, but ensures continuous health insurance coverage for consumers.

As Health Market Consolidation Grows, So Do Prices

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The Justice Department just stepped in to prevent two health insurance mergers. The health care market consolidation trend isn’t new – insurers and provider groups alike just keep getting larger. But what does it mean for consumers? CHIR’s legal intern Emma Chapman examines the evidence.

State-Run SHOPs: An Update Three Years Post ACA Implementation

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Small-business owners face unique challenges covering their employees; to lower barriers and increase options, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). In a new blog published by The Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts Emily Curran, Sabrina Corlette, and Kevin Lucia evaluate the current state of these marketplaces three years into implementation.

New Health Affairs Policy Brief Examines the Regulation of Health Plan Provider Networks

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Limited networks have become increasingly common on ACA marketplaces, comprising almost half of all offerings during the first two years of the exchanges. In a new policy brief for Health Affairs, CHIR experts Justin Giovannelli, Kevin Lucia, and Sabrina Corlette examine what the states and the federal government are doing to ensure that marketplace plan networks are adequate and transparent.

Factors Affecting Health Insurance Enrollment Through the State Marketplaces: Observations on the ACA’s Third Open Enrollment Period

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Despite declining funding, enrollment through the state-based marketplaces increased nearly nine percent during the third open enrollment period. To learn what assistance and outreach strategies were most effective in attracting consumers, we surveyed marketplace officials to gain their unique insights and share major findings in our latest report.

State Legislators Conduct Post-Mortem on Affordable Care Act CO-OPs and Plot Next Steps

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State insurance legislators held their national meeting in Portland, Oregon last week, and the demise of 16 health insurance CO-OPs created under the Affordable Care Act was high on the agenda. CHIR’s own Sabrina Corlette was invited to provide legislators with testimony about the CO-OP program’s troubles. Key takeaways from the meeting – and next steps for state policymakers – are provided here.

When Policy Isn’t Put Into Practice: State-Based Marketplaces Fail to Meet Goals of Standardizing Benefit Designs

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As the federal insurance marketplace moves forward to standardize health plan benefit designs, what lessons can be learned from the state marketplaces that have had similar policies in place since 2014? A new Georgetown report examines the experiences of four state-based marketplaces and finds they have largely failed to meet their policy goals.

An Evolving Primary Care Model: Nurse Practioners, Physician Assistants are Gaining Autonomy, but Barriers Remain

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Sixty million people in the U.S. lack access to primary care services, partly due to a shortage of primary care physicians. Many states are responding to the crisis by expanding the scope of practice of non-MD health professionals, such as nurse practitioners. But insurers’ payment policies and resistance from the medical establishment often limit the effectiveness of those policy changes. CHIR’s legal intern Emma Chapman digs into the current debate.

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.