Health reform

An Evolving Primary Care Model: Nurse Practioners, Physician Assistants are Gaining Autonomy, but Barriers Remain

Posted July 7, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

Sixty million people in the U.S. lack access to primary care services, partly due to a shortage of primary care physicians. Many states are responding to the crisis by expanding the scope of practice of non-MD health professionals, such as nurse practitioners. But insurers’ payment policies and resistance from the medical establishment often limit the effectiveness of those policy changes. CHIR’s legal intern Emma Chapman digs into the current debate.

Obama Administration Announces New Strategies to Enroll Young Adults in Health Insurance, but Misses One Important Fix

Posted June 23, 2016 by

The Obama Administration has announced several new strategies to boost enrollment among young adults in the health insurance marketplaces. These are helpful and important, but CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette observes they haven’t yet fixed an enrollment glitch that particularly affects adult children under age 26.

Study: Medicaid Offers Stronger Cost Sharing Protections Compared with Marketplace Coverage

Posted June 22, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

In the debate over Medicaid expansion, most of the attention has been on families in non-expansion states who are shut out of coverage. But what about those just above the poverty line who are eligible for marketplace tax credits? A new study compares their experience to those with similar incomes in Medicaid expansion states. Sean Miskell shares the findings.

California Moves Toward Offering Full Price Coverage to Ineligible Immigrants in its Marketplace

Posted June 17, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

California will soon be requesting a waiver from federal officials that would enable the state health insurance marketplace to enroll immigrants who are not lawfully present into coverage. Our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, Sonya Schwartz, takes a look at California’s new law and what it might mean for immigrants and their families.

You Don’t Know Who You Are Dealing With: Unscrupulous Broker Tries to Sell Us Short-Term Health Insurance

Posted June 13, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

An insurance broker called a CHIR faculty member with a shady sales pitch for a short-term health plan. He had no idea who he was dealing with. Sabrina Corlette and JoAnn Volk explore why insurance companies are using short-term policies to cherry pick healthy people away from the Affordable Care Act marketplaces – and why a new Obama Administration rule may help close the loop hole.

Improving Marketplace Coverage for Children

Posted June 7, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

What does coverage look like for children on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces? A new report from Georgetown experts Kelly Whitener, JoAnn Volk, Sean Miskell and Joan Alker examines at the adequacy of coverage, affordability of coverage, and access to providers. This blog post provides some of their topline findings.

Georgetown CCF Releases First in Series of Briefs on the Future of Children’s Health Coverage

Posted June 1, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

Our Georgetown colleagues at the Center for Children and Families have released the first installment in a series of reports and briefs on the future of children’s coverage. Titled “Children in the Marketplace,” this first report examines how the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces are serving children and suggests areas for improvement.

The Next Stage in Health Reform

Posted May 24, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

Health reform is entering a new stage. Going forward, federal and state policymakers must decide how to use the powers and tools granted them under the Affordable Care Act to stabilize risk pools, improve competition, and promote effective risk management. In this blog post Brookings scholar Henry Aaron and CHIR faculty Kevin Lucia and Justin Giovannelli discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead for the ACA’s marketplaces.

Understanding ACA’s Coverage Gains: Welcome Mat Effect & State Marketplaces Keys to Success

Posted May 18, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

How can we best understand the coverage gains under the Affordable Care Act? Researchers from Harvard’s School of Public Health and MIT unpack the latest data from the largest household survey in the United States and share some insights.

CHIR Expert Testifies Before U.S. House Committee on Affordable Care Act “Alternatives”

Posted May 11, 2016 by CHIR Faculty

Our very own Sabrina Corlette was invited back to the U.S. House of Representatives for the second time in a month, this time to give testimony before the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. Here are a few highlights from the May 11 hearing.