Category: State of the States

New Report on State Implementation of Essential Health Benefit Standard

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As part of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded project to monitor implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 11 states, Georgetown’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms and the Urban Institute have published a series of papers identifying key issues and challenges. Their most recent brief examines the development and review of health plans that meet the new essential health benefit standard. Sabrina Corlette provides us with some key takeaways.

Health Reform at Work: Lower Rates in New York State

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Next year’s premiums for individual market plans will be way down in New York thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Christine Monahan discusses how a competitive exchange and the individual mandate will provide relief to cash-strapped New Yorkers.

New Report Examines Early Indications of Insurer Participation and Competition in Health Insurance Exchanges

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One of the key goals of the Affordable Care Act is to make health insurance coverage more affordable and consumer-friendly by managing competition among health insurers through the creation of health insurance exchanges. A new report from researchers at the Urban Institute and CHIR released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation explores state actions to encourage or require participation on exchanges, and early indications of the level of competition among health insurers. Kevin Lucia highlights some of the findings from the report.

New Report: States Going Above and Beyond to Create Sustainable Exchanges and Deliver Choice and Value to Consumers

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In a new report for The Commonwealth Fund, Sarah Dash, Kevin Lucia, Katie Keith, and Christine Monahan provide a comprehensive look at the critical design decisions made by 17 states and the District of Columbia that chose to establish a state-based exchange for 2014. Sarah Dash has highlights from the report and discusses what the findings mean for stakeholders.

Will New Laws in States with Federally Run Health Insurance Marketplaces Hinder Outreach?

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Although the federal government will play a primary role in administering the navigator program in the 33 states with a federally facilitated exchange, many state legislatures have enacted or considered legislation that subjects navigators to state requirements. In a post that originally appeared on The Commonwealth Fund Blog, Katie Keith, Kevin Lucia, and Christine Monahan describe the role of navigators and well as the potentially detrimental impact of this recent state legislative activity on effective consumer outreach.

Evolving Dynamics of Health Insurance Exchange Implementation

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Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the roles of states and the federal government in establishing health insurance exchanges—marketplaces where people can shop for comprehensive and affordable health plans—have evolved considerably. In a post that originally appeared on The Commonwealth Fund Blog, Sarah Dash, Christine Monahan, and Kevin Lucia describe where exchange establishment decisions currently stand.

Florida’s Changes to Rate Review: Heading Backward?

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Of the many consumer protection tools available to health insurance regulators, one of the most powerful is the ability to review premium rates. Yet, some states have made recent decisions to abdicate this authority to federal regulators. Sally McCarty discusses recently enacted legislation in Florida that suspends the state’s rate review requirements – and what it means for insurers, regulators, and consumers.

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.