In our newest monthly roundup of health policy research, CHIR’s Rachel Swindle reviews studies on consumer knowledge of marketplace options, the consequences of allowing the American Rescue Plan’s marketplace subsidies to expire, and downstream impacts of cost sharing trends.
People shopping for health insurance online are often directed to websites using misleading or deceptive practices to steer them to products that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act, such as fixed indemnity policies. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Dania Palanker and Kevin Lucia discuss the marketing of limited plans as a primary form of coverage and the risks these products pose to consumers.
This month the Biden administration released a second rule implementing the No Surprises Act, the new federal law banning balance bills in certain care settings and circumstances starting in 2022. In an Expert Perspective for the State Health & Value Strategies project, CHIR experts JoAnn Volk and Sabrina Corlette review provisions of the proposed rules of particular import to state-based marketplaces and state insurance regulators.
Amidst high and rising health care costs, recent federal regulations require hospitals and health plans to publicly post their prices. Such data can be useful for those seeking to control costs and improve affordability, but lack of compliance with the new requirements and data accessibility have made analysis difficult. To gain insights into the potential for this data and generate ideas for how to optimize the information to help reduce health system costs, CHIR convened a meeting of health care researchers, purchasers, and insurance regulators from around the country.
Congressional leaders requested input from the public on how to design a federal public health insurance option. CHIR’s Christine Monahan compiled and reviewed dozens of publicly available responses and shares key takeaways, as well as links so you can take a closer look.
For the latest monthly roundup of health policy research, CHIR’s Rachel Swindle takes a look at studies published in August on the how the uninsured rate has held steady during the COVID-19 pandemic and expiration of cost-sharing waivers for COVID-19 treatment.
The American Rescue Plan made health insurance more affordable, but covering the 30 million remaining uninsured will require innovative efforts to broadcast and facilitate enrollment in subsidized insurance. To that end, several states, following an inaugural effort in Maryland, have proposed or are implementing a new avenue to enrollment through the tax-filing process. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR experts take a look at states that are operating or implementing “Easy Enrollment” programs, and how they may offer a bridge to more ambitious initiatives like automatic enrollment.
Washington State enacted a first-of-its-kind public option, with the state-procured plans available beginning in 2020. But the inaugural year yielded underwhelming results, with fewer than 2,000 people enrolled in the plans and premiums that were on average higher than the prior year’s rates. After identifying several barriers to the program’s success, Washington enacted legislation this year to bolster the state’s public option.
It’s three strikes you’re out for opponents of the Affordable Care Act. For the third – and hopefully final – time, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the latest legal challenge. We at CHIR celebrate this victory for the American people, including the millions that rely on the ACA for coverage.
CHIR is pleased to welcome Christine Monahan, J.D. back to our team as an Assistant Research Professor. Christine will be working with us on a range of issues, including coverage expansion and affordability. Join us in welcoming her back to the CHIR family.
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.
