Category: Health reform

Federal Rule Gives Regulators Enhanced Tools to Ensure Equitable Access to Behavioral Health Care

Last fall, the Biden Administration finalized a rule updating standards for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). In their latest piece for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s JoAnn Volk and Billy Dering discuss the new requirements for use of “non-quantitative treatment limits” that impose significant barriers to behavioral health treatment.

A blast from the past: Dusting off ACA Section 1333 compacts

Peter Nelson, the new director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) has brought a long forgotten ACA provision back into the spotlight. CHIR’s Stacey Pogue breaks down Section 1333 compacts, what it would mean for consumers, and concerns for implementation.

February Research Roundup: What We’re Reading

In February we stayed out of the cold and bundled up with the latest in health policy research. We read about salary and utilization changes in hospitals acquired by private equity, challenges with price transparency requirements, and changes to hospital community benefit rules in Oregon.

Bringing Balance to the Market: A Roadmap for Improving Health Insurance Affordability Through Rate Review

High and rising healthcare costs in the U.S. are driven largely by escalating hospital prices, fueled by increasing consolidation among health systems. In a recent Issue Brief for the Milbank Memorial Fund, Sabrina Corlette and Karen Davenport discuss what states can do to enhance premium rate review programs, to ultimately curb provider price increases.

Bipartisan Reports Indicate It’s Time to Take Action Against Private Equity in Health Care 

Private equity is not new to the health care sector, but recent growth in private equity investment has sparked a plethora of research studies, media attention, and political attention. A recent Congressional investigation and agency report, on top of continuing research indicate the time for policymakers to take action against private equity in health care is now.

January Research Roundup: What We’re Reading

Since the snow shows no sign of stopping, we might as well stay cozy inside and read up on the latest health policy research from January! This month we read about patient care after private equity acquisition of hospitals, and how to improve risk-adjustment accuracy in Medicare Advantage. 

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.