Health reform

State Efforts to Lower Cost-Sharing Barriers to Health Care for the Privately Insured

Posted June 15, 2017 by CHIR Faculty

Current federal proposals to replace the Affordable Care Act are likely to result in higher out-of-pocket costs for consumers. Six states and D.C., however, have policies to lower cost-sharing barriers to important health care services and drugs for the privately insured. In a new research brief, CHIR researchers take a closer look at some of these states’ experiences developing and implementing these policies.

“Bare” Counties Are a Real Concern. Short-Term Policies Are Not the Answer

Posted June 12, 2017 by

Fourteen U.S. Senators have sent a letter to Secretary Price, urging him to roll back an Obama-era regulation of short-term health plans, arguing that doing so will give consumers more choices and less expensive coverage options. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette dives into the benefits and risks of de-regulating short-term policies.

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.