Category: Implementing the Affordable Care Act

Marketplace IT Glitches: The Sky Is Not Falling

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The new health insurance marketplaces open for business today. In a blog originally posted on The Commonwealth Fund blog, Kevin Lucia, Sabrina Corlette and Sarah Dash remind us that while the marketplaces, like all start-ups, are likely to experience some early glitches, for the millions who have been shut out of coverage because of a pre-existing condition or an inability to afford insurance, we are entering a new era of consumer-focused health insurance.

Need Health Policy Basics? Help is Here

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For those new to health policy, or even old hands that need a little brushing up, the Alliance for Health Reform has released Covering Health Issues: A Sourcebook for Journalists. It’s chock full of great health policy explainers, including up-to-the minute information on the Affordable Care Act and a new chapter on health insurance marketplaces, authored by CHIR’s own Sabrina Corlette and Sarah Dash.

The Multi-State Plans Unveiled

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The U.S Office of Personnel Management has revealed the insurer behind the Multi-State Plan options – and the availability of these plans in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Sabrina Corlette takes a look at what this program has to offer consumers.

Answering Your Questions on Certified Application Counselors

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Navigators, in-person assisters, and certified application counselors (CACs) have been getting a lot of attention lately. But when it comes to CACs in particular, there’s lots of uncertainty about who they are, what they’ll be doing, and how. Our colleague Tricia Brooks takes a moment to answer a series of questions about CACs.

Delay the Individual Mandate? Why That’s a Bad Idea.

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The Urban Institute has published a helpful analysis of proposals to delay the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate provisions. The authors detail why such proposals would have disastrous consequences for the millions of consumers expected to benefit from the law. Sabrina Corlette took a look and shares why delaying the individual mandate is tantamount to repealing the ACA itself.

Narrow Networks: Who’s Looking Out for Consumers?

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Media outlets are reporting on a trend towards narrow network health plans offered through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces. Max Farris and Sally McCarty provide context for this emerging issue and discuss the state role in ensuring consumers have access to a sufficient number of primary care and specialty care physicians, facilities, and other providers.

Attacks on Navigators Continue at House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing

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The U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing to assess the Administration’s readiness for the October 1st launch of the health insurance marketplaces. The focus of the Committee quickly turned to the Navigator program. Elissa Dines has this report from a contentious hearing.

Message to Anti-ACA Bullies: Go Pick on Someone Your Own Size

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Affordable Care Act opponents are using intimidation tactics to inhibit navigators from helping consumers understand their new coverage options on the exchanges. Sabrina Corlette takes a look at some recent action in the states – and what the federal government can do to make sure consumers can get the help they need, when they need it.

Only the Beginning — What’s Next at the Health Insurance Exchanges?

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It’s only 19 days to the launch of the new health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. In a recent article for the New England Journal of Medicine, Kevin Lucia and Brookings scholar Henry Aaron discuss how these new marketplaces are likely to evolve and transform the U.S. health care system. In this blog, Kevin provides some key highlights.

Navigators Should Not Let Politics Thwart Their Important Work

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In yet another attempt in a very long line of efforts to delay or derail the health care law, members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee demanded that organizations awarded federal navigator grants answer multiple detailed questions and produce reams of paper documents about their grants. Our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, Tricia Brooks, takes a look at what’s driving the debate over consumer assistance and the ACA.

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.