Category: Health reform
Implementing the No Surprises Act: Updated Complaint Data

The No Surprises Act (NSA) has largely succeeded in protecting consumers from surprise medical bills by reducing out-of-network billing and establishing a dispute resolution process. However, while compliance has improved, challenges with the IDR process, legal actions, and incomplete data hinder a full assessment of its cost containment goals and effectiveness. CHIR experts Nadia Stovicek and Jack Hoadley discuss recent complaint data in their newest piece for CHIRblog.
HHS’s Competition Officer Offers Healthcare Cost Containment Opportunities for the Trump Administration

The Biden administration has advanced several pro-competition reforms aimed at lowering health care costs and increasing consumer choice, an area of potential alignment with the incoming Trump administration. CHIR’s Kennah Watts discusses competition as a bipartisan policy and what the incoming Trump administration can do to support competitive markets and improve health care affordability.
November Research Roundup: What We’re Reading
New York Legislature Seeks to Control Outpatient Spending through Site-Neutral Payment and Rate Cap Proposal
Biden Administration Proposal to Improve Access to Free Preventive Services Faces Uncertain Future

The Biden Administration has proposed a rule to expand coverage of preventive services, including over-the-counter (OTC) contraceptives, without cost sharing. However, the proposal’s future is uncertain due to potential legal challenges and the political factors surrounding reproductive health. CHIR faculty Leila Sullivan and Amy Killelea discuss the proposal.
Enhancing Essential Health Benefits: How States Are Updating Benchmark Plans to Improve Coverage

The Affordable Care Act mandates that health plans in the individual and small-group markets cover essential health benefits (EHB), with states setting the scope through a benchmark plan. A new brief for the Commonwealth Fund by CHIR faculty explores how states have used recent flexibility to expand EHB, address consumer needs, and advance health policy, while highlighting ongoing challenges
Improving Health Care Transparency: Federal and State Perspectives
Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Provide an Early Opportunity for Addressing Affordability Issues

Enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) have significantly reduced health insurance premiums and expanded coverage for millions of Americans, particularly low- and middle-income individuals, but these subsidies are set to expire in 2025. If Congress doesn’t act to make them permanent, premiums will rise, leading to coverage losses and greater financial hardship for millions. CHIR’s Karen Davenport discusses what the incoming Congress can do to address healthcare affordability issues.