Health reform

Responding to the Opioid Crisis: Insurers Balance Stepped up Monitoring, Restrictions with Need for Appropriate Pain Treatment

Posted May 23, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

The United States has an opioid epidemic, with an unprecedented number of opioid-related deaths in recent years. The rise in opioid addiction and overdose is further complicated by the need to effectively treat the approximately 100 million people living with chronic pain. In their latest issue brief for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CHIR experts report on how insurers are responding to the opioid crisis while also meeting the needs of members living with chronic pain.

Winding Down the Small Business Marketplaces: Feds Acknowledge the Failure to Launch

Posted May 22, 2017 by Emily Curran

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would propose rulemaking to effectively end the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) as we know it. CHIR’s Emily Curran takes a look at the brief life of the federally run program.

Proposed Premium Rates for 2018: What do Early Insurance Company Filings Tell Us?

Posted May 17, 2017 by

Insurers are starting to submit their proposed plans and rates for 2018 coverage to state regulators. What do these early filings tell us about how the industry is responding to continued uncertainty over the future of the Affordable Care Act? Sabrina Corlette takes a look.

Mother’s Day Menu from Congress and the American Health Care Act

Posted May 12, 2017 by Dania Palanker

This Mother’s Day, Congress is giving mothers a new health coverage menu with options for states and insurance companies to reduce their coverage through the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The selection could make you lose your brunch.

The MacArthur Amendment: The Final Death Blow for the Affordable Care Act CO-OP Plans

Posted May 9, 2017 by

A provision tucked into an amendment to the House-passed “American Health Care Act” would effectively kill off the few insurers remaining in the Affordable Care Act’s CO-OP program. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette explains.

2017 Federal and State Marketplace Trends Show Value of Outreach

Posted May 5, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

The fourth open enrollment period ended in early 2017, with dwindling momentum behind enrollment efforts at the federal level following the presidential election. In a new publication for the Commonwealth Fund, Emily Curran, Sabrina Corlette, Kevin Lucia and Justin Giovannelli provide an overview of potential factors influencing enrollment changes in the state-based marketplaces, including increased efforts that may have had a positive effect on final selections.

Alexander-Corker Bill Would Likely Reduce, Not Expand, Consumers’ Health Insurance Options

Posted May 2, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

Humana’s decision to pull out of the individual market in 2018 has prompted more concern over areas facing a dearth of marketplace plans next year, or “bare” counties. Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker recently introduced a bill that would waive the individual mandate for residents of bare counties, and allow them to receive federal premium tax credits to purchase plans outside of the marketplace. Sarah Lueck of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shares a new analysis of the bill and its potential impact on insurers and consumers.

Court Dismisses Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s Risk Corridor Lawsuit—What About the Other Risk Cases?

Posted May 1, 2017 by Emily Curran

On April 18, the United States Court of Federal Claims dismissed Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s risk corridor lawsuit, ruling that the insurer’s claim was premature. CHIR’s Emily Curran delves into this and other lawsuits filed by health insurers across the country, all of whom seek to recoup critical premium stabilization funding from the federal government.

Who Would Gain Under the Proposal to Expand Health Savings Accounts?

Posted April 19, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

Health savings accounts play a key role in most Republican plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. In a new publication for the Commonwealth Fund, JoAnn Volk and Justin Giovannelli examine the track record of these tax-advantaged accounts and the proposals to expand their use.

New Network Adequacy Rules: Less Federal Oversight, More Deference to States

Posted April 6, 2017 by

In a soon to be finalized “market stabilization” rule, the Trump Administration has proposed a new approach to the oversight of health plan network adequacy. Sabrina Corlette reviews the administration’s revised stance and what it could mean for state-level enforcement, and for the consumers enrolled in marketplace plans.