Lack of access to care for behavioral health conditions is a longstanding issue. In a recent post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts JoAnn Volk and Justin Giovannelli reviewed state and federal access standards for behavioral health providers and services.
A growing body of evidence suggests private equity investments in health care have raised provider prices and reduced care quality in certain settings. In a new Health Affairs Forefront article, Linda Blumberg and Kennah Watts look at the track record of private equity acquisitions and how cost-containment efforts could help mitigate private equity’s influence and improve patient outcomes.
Federal regulations require hospitals and insurers to publish negotiated prices. States are also playing a role in this effort by monitoring compliance with the federal rules and implementing other policies to educate consumers and improve this cost-containment tool. In their recent Health Affairs Forefront article, Maanasa Kona and Nadia Stovicek look at state actions to promote price transparency.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services recently released a final rule setting standards for the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces and health insurers for plan year 2025. In their latest Health Affairs Forefront article, Sabrina Corlette and Jason Levitis discuss the new Marketplace standards, insurance reforms, and policies concerning Advance Premium Tax Credits.
Last month, CHIR experts Rachel Swindle and Karen Davenport shared findings from CHIR’s research on state-level facility fee reforms before House and Senate committees of the Maryland General Assembly.
The final Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters for plan year 2025 is expected soon. The proposed rule included a provision that would permit states to require coverage of adult dental services as part of the Essential Health Benefits. As part of a CHIRblog series on Marketplace dental benefits, CHIR reviewed comments submitted in response to this proposal by select stakeholder groups.
In the United States, immigrants are disproportionately likely to be uninsured. This disparity stems from systemic inequalities such as legal barriers to affordable coverage for noncitizens—especially undocumented immigrants. While state efforts to provide Medicaid-equivalent benefits to some populations of undocumented residents have helped expand access to coverage, many low- and moderate-income undocumented residents remain without affordable health insurance options. In a recent post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Justin Giovannelli and Rachel Schwab explore recent state actions to fill this gap.
In February, CHIR used Leap Day to catch up on the latest health policy research. This month we read studies on the uninsurance rate, dynamics between the small-group market and individual Marketplace, and the availability of mental telehealth services.
On March 7, CHIR hosted the second event in a series of policy briefings on the future of employer-sponsored health insurance, sponsored by Arnold Ventures. This event, featuring remarks from Congressman “Bobby” Scott and a panel discussion moderated by Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, focused on the No Surprises Act’s impact on consumers and implementation challenges associated with the independent dispute resolution process.
Last month, the Biden administration reported on independent dispute resolution (IDR) cases resolved under the No Surprises Act in the first half of 2023. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Jack Hoadley and Kevin Lucia analyze the IDR data and what it means for patients, providers, payers, and health care costs.
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.
