CHIR Welcomes New Faculty
We are delighted to welcome two new faculty members: Madison Harden and Abigail Knapp.
Category: CHIR
No Surprises Act Arbitrators Vary Significantly In Their Decision Making Patterns
IDR entities have come to play an instrumental role in OON payments, but entities’ determinations and decision-making practices lack transparency. In their latest piece for Health Affairs Forefront, Kennah Watts and Jack Hoadley analyze variation IDR entities’ decision-making patterns and discuss the implications for the IDR process.
Explore the Data: Interactive Map of Dental Coverage Through the Marketplaces
Dental coverage offered through the ACA Marketplaces is constantly changing. Building on CHIR’s 2024 analysis of enrollment, premiums, and insurer participation in stand-alone dental plans (SADPs), this new interactive map allows users to dive deeper into state-level data.
Independent Dispute Resolution Process 2024 Data: High Volume, More Provider Wins
While the independent dispute resolution (IDR) process is intended to lead to fair outcomes for out-of-network payment, new analysis demonstrates unexpectedly high use of the IDR process, mostly by private-equity-backed providers that win often and win large. In their latest piece for Health Affairs Forefront, Jack Hoadley, Kennah Watts, and Zachary Baron illustrate trends in the IDR process and explore implications for costs.
Testimony of Sabrina Corlette, J.D. before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways & Means Health Subcommittee – June 25, 2025
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways & Means Health Subcommittee recently held a hearing about ways to advance digital health technologies. CHIR expert Sabrina Corlette was one of the invited panelists, warning the committee that, while these new technologies hold promise, consumers can only benefit from them if they have access to affordable, high quality health insurance.
Early 2026 Rate Filings Show Marketplace Policy Changes Contribute to Eye-Popping Rate Increases
This year, insurers are setting their rates for 2026 while Congress and the administration weigh several policies that are projected to cause premiums to spike and the number of people with Marketplace coverage to plummet. In a new blog, CHIR experts investigate early 2026 rate filings and related analysis to explore how insurers are responding to an array of anticipated federal ACA policy changes and uncertainty around them.
Second Verse, Same as the First: Senate Reconciliation Language Failes to Fix Paperwork Burdens, Other Barriers to Marketplace Coverage
With the passage of H.R.1, the House of Representatives’ version of the budget reconciliation bill that will advance President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, all eyes are turned towards the Senate. In a new CHIRblog, ACA experts Karen Davenport, Stacey Pogue, and Sabrina Corlette discuss how draft legislation emerging from the Senate would create enrollment barriers to Marketplace coverage that largely mirror the House’s reconciliation bill.
Indiana’s Extraordinary Legislative Session Exemplifies How Incremental Efforts Can Improve Health Care Affordability
While Indiana lawmakers have been working to reduce health care costs for commercial health insurance for more than a decade, Indiana’s 125th Legislative Session was particularly productive. CHIR experts explore Indiana’s efforts to improve health care affordability, and discuss how this could serve as an example for other states.
May Research Roundup: What We’re Reading
In May, we welcomed spring blooms and warm weather, while staying engaged with the latest health policy research. This month we read about potential effects of the reconciliation bill on provider revenue and uncompensated care, Rhode Island’s affordability standards and their effects on hospital prices, and coverage retention and plan switching following changes in premiums.
Federal Efforts Ostensibly Aimed at Marketplace “Fraud” Ignore Obvious Strategies to Counter Broker Misconduct
The proposed Marketplace Integrity rule and House-passed budget bill purportedly aim to curb ACA fraud but overlook basic steps to address broker misconduct. CHIR experts explain how these policies increase barriers for eligible enrollees without improving oversight of unethical brokers or implementing common-sense reforms.