Category: Implementing the Affordable Care Act

More Than a Website: Should the Federal Government Establish Additional Minimum Standards for the ACA’s Health Insurance Marketplaces?

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The Affordable Care Act established health insurance Marketplaces to facilitate enrollment in comprehensive and affordable health insurance. Most states rely on the federal government to run their Marketplace, but recently, several states have expressed interest in taking over Marketplace operations. With Marketplace enrollment at an all-time high, and millions more people poised to transition from Medicaid to commercial insurance, the role of the Marketplaces as a coverage safety net has never been more pivotal. But federal rules impose few standards for states launching and maintaining a Marketplace. It may be time for the federal government to establish a stronger federal floor.

Searching for a New Normal: How Expiration of the Federal Public Health Emergency Impacts Access to Health Care Services

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After more than three years, the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is set to expire on May 11, 2023. Once the PHE designation is lifted, a number of federal policies intended to help the U.S. health care system adapt to the pandemic will also expire. CHIR’s Emma Walsh-Alker reviews selected policies tied to the PHE and evaluates how the impending expiration will impact consumers’ access to services.

March Research Roundup: What We’re Reading

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Winter is finally over, and health policy research is in full bloom. In March, we read about disparities in health insurance coverage for people of color, medical debt, and preventive service usage among private health plan enrollees.

Biden’s Budget Sets Up a Spending Showdown, With ACA Subsidies in the Crosshairs

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President Biden released his Fiscal Year 2024 budget earlier this month, outlining the administration’s spending and policy priorities for a number of key programs, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces. However, with a sharply divided Congress, consumers who rely on Medicaid and the ACA’s Marketplaces are likely in the crosshairs of an upcoming spending showdown. CHIR’s Emma Walsh-Alker examines the potential impact of cutbacks to the ACA’s Marketplace subsidies on low- and moderate-income families.

Stakeholder Perspectives on CMS’s 2024 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters: Health Insurers

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The Biden administration is poised to finalize new rules governing the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces and insurance reforms for plan year 2024. In its annual review of how key stakeholders are responding to the proposed policy changes, CHIR will be publishing a three-part series focused on insurance company, consumer advocate, and state comments on the proposed rule.

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.