Category: Implementing the Affordable Care Act

Back in the Day — Lessons Learned from Pre-reform Days: Going “Old School” with Narrow Networks

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While we’re struggling with Affordable Care Act (ACA) issues, there’s value in taking the time to look back and appreciate the impact of the ACA and other healthcare reforms implemented over the past few decades. To that end, former insurance commissioner and health insurance company executive Sally McCarty begins a series of blogs that compare the healthcare coverage landscape before and after reform. The series is called “Back in the Day – Lessons from Pre-reform Days,” and begins with a look at narrow networks.

Help for Consumers Who Faced Marketplace Glitches

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The Obama administration recently announced that the health insurance Marketplaces can offer consumers retroactive coverage and financial assistance, if technical problems prevented them from enrolling. But the administration’s guidance also leaves some unanswered questions. Sabrina Corlette takes a look and helps us understand what the new policy actually means for consumers.

Last Call for State-Based Health Insurance Marketplaces

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There are reports that at least some formerly reluctant states are thinking of moving from a federally facilitated to a state-based health insurance marketplace. Our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, Sonya Schwartz, walks us through what states need to do to make the transition.

Narrow Networks Under the ACA: Financial Drivers and Implementation Strategies

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The ACA’s essential health benefits and metal tier coverage standards, guaranteed issue, and community rating requirements help level the playing field among insurers. To compete on price, many are turning to limited network products. CHIR experts David Cusano and Amy Thomas discuss insurers’ approaches to the development of plan networks in the post-ACA era in a new blog post originally published by Health Affairs.

“For the first time in forever” women are now on more equal footing when it comes to health insurance

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A recent news article chronicled worries that the disproportionate number of women signing up for the new health insurance marketplaces will lead to an unbalanced risk pool and increases in premiums. But as Sarah Dash documents in her latest blog post, the ACA is requiring insurers to shift from denying care to women to providing them with better, more comprehensive coverage. And with insurers now required to offer coverage to everybody, it may be time to harness new, consumer-friendly ways to keep health care costs in check.

Halbig v. Sebelius and State Motivations to Opt for Federally Run Exchanges

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A number of states recently filed amicus briefs in a court battle over whether federally facilitated exchanges can provide premium tax credits to low- and middle-income consumers. Because the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate penalties are contingent on employees accessing subsidized coverage through an exchange, the states are asserting that they purposefully opted for federally run exchanges so employers would not face this burden. In a guest post, former CHIR researcher Christine Monahan assesses the veracity of this claim.

How Do Updated 2014 Federal Poverty Level Thresholds Impact Medicaid, CHIP & Premium Tax Credit Eligibility?

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The Administration recently released updated federal poverty level thresholds for 2014. With eligibility for Medicaid, CHIP and premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act at stake, consumers and those assisting them need to understand what these new thresholds mean. Here to explain is our colleague at Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, Martha Heberlein.

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.