Colorado lawmakers recently announced that hospital and health plans had agreed to remain “neutral” on the state’s proposal for a public option plan. That’s in part because Colorado is hoping the industry will voluntarily achieve spending reductions, without state intervention. CHIR’s Megan Houston assesses how that approach is working in other states that have tried it.
The “family glitch,” a loophole in federal rules, bars millions of people from subsidized coverage because they have access to a family member’s employer-sponsored coverage The glitch is easy to fix, through either regulation or legislation. CHIR exposes that a paper released this week claiming a fix is illegal and harmful is based on a faulty presumption.
The family glitch bars millions of people from accessing reduced premiums and cost-sharing through the marketplaces because a family member has an offer of employer coverage. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund To the Point blog, Christina Goe and CHIR’s Dania Palanker delve into the costs of the family glitch to low- and middle-income families.
The CHIR team is excited to transition into spring, as with the warmer weather has come some great new health policy research! This month, Nia Gooding reviewed studies on best practices for implementing the No Surprises Act, the American Rescue Plan Act’s effect on insurance premiums, demographic variations in the U.S. uninsured population, and models for implementing a public option.
After seven enrollment cycles on HealthCare.gov, New Jersey and Pennsylvania both launched new state marketplace websites in time for the latest Open Enrollment Period. Both states saw increases in marketplace enrollment over previous years. To understand how this transition went for Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents, and to extract potential lessons for the states that are transitioning to running their own marketplaces, we sought insight from people on the ground: consumer assisters.
President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act on March 11, 2021. The bill includes several provisions to expand people’s access to affordable, comprehensive coverage options. CHIR provides answers to frequently asked questions about the new law’s enhanced premium tax credits.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides the largest expansion of public and private health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and the Georgetown Center for Children & Families’ Edwin Park break down its key provisions in a new explainer.
Last month, the Biden administration established a temporary special enrollment period (SEP) on the federal health insurance marketplace in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the first two weeks of the SEP, the federal marketplace saw a rise in enrollment activity, and the expansion of premium subsidies under the American Rescue Plan is expected to generate even greater enrollment increases. CHIR’s Rachel Schwab takes a look at how recent federal actions tap into the Affordable Care Act’s potential and expand its reach.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, this February CHIR’s Nia Gooding reviewed some lovely studies on trends in the uninsured population, the impact of Medicaid expansion on coverage rates and healthcare access among young adults, and the effect that cost-sharing has on patient behavior and health outcomes.
Insurer’s fourth quarter earnings showed a decline in profits after the surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations at the end of the year. CHIR’s Megan Houston considers how the pandemic has impacted health plans and how this fits into overall trends from the past year.
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.
