Category: CHIR

Navigator Guide FAQs of the Week: The Risks of Buying Coverage Outside the Marketplace

As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time to think about health insurance for 2024. Consumers searching for a 2024 plan online may come across products that do not have to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) consumer protections. This week, we’re highlighting frequently asked questions from our Navigator Resource Guide concerning the risks of buying coverage outside the ACA’s Marketplace.

In An Era Of Premium And Provider Price Increases, State Employee Health Plans Target Key Cost Drivers

It’s open enrollment season for many employer health plans, and the rising cost of care may increase workers’ premiums and out-of-pocket expenditures. Recently, CHIR surveyed state employee health plans (SEHP) to identify challenges and opportunities for controlling health care costs. In a new post for Health Affairs Forefront, Sabrina Corlette and Karen Davenport discuss the survey findings and how SEHP strategies can inform broader cost containment efforts.

The Impact of Unions on Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance

In just the first eight months of 2023, over 323,000 workers engaged in a labor action against their employers. Unions have been demanding better wages, protections, and benefits—including better health plans. CHIR’s Maanasa Kona takes a look at the role of unions in securing affordable health coverage for workers, including the innovative strategies they’ve used to reduce the unsustainable growth in health system costs.

Navigator Guide FAQs of the Week: Who is Eligible for Marketplace Coverage?

November 1 marked the first day of the Marketplace Open Enrollment Period in most states. CHIR recently updated its Navigator Resource Guide, and we’ll be highlighting frequently asked questions (FAQs) from the Navigator Guide throughout the annual enrollment window. This week, we’re taking a look at who is eligible for Marketplace plans.

Facility Fees 101: What is all the Fuss About?

Consumers are facing higher out-of-pocket costs when they receive outpatient care due to hospital “facility fees.” In a post for Health Affairs Forefront, Linda Blumberg and Christine Monahan provide a primer on facility fees, including the trend of hospital consolidation driving these fees and federal policy options to protect consumers from rising costs in outpatient settings.

State Health Equity Initiatives Confront Decades of Racism in the Insurance Industry

As another Marketplace Open Enrollment Period begins, millions of Americans will turn to insurance brokers to guide them to affordable and comprehensive health insurance. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Jalisa Clark and Christine Monahan look into the underrepresentation of people of color in the broker profession and the clients they serve, including the historical origins of these racial disparities and how the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces are intervening.

Uneven Ground: Differences in Language Access Across State-Based Marketplaces

The annual Marketplace Open Enrollment Period is just around the corner. Enrolling in health insurance can be a challenge, especially for the millions of Americans with limited English proficiency (LEP). In a new issue brief for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts document how the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplaces are facilitating access to health insurance information for LEP individuals, identify persistent gaps in language services, and recommend federal policies to improve language access in the Marketplaces.

September Research Roundup: What We’re Reading

As we fall into autumn weather, CHIR continues to keep up with the latest health policy research. In September, we read about trends in individual market enrollment, mental health care networks available through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Marketplace, and employers’ ability to negotiate lower prices for health care services.

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.