…many low-income residents. On the other hand, West Virginia’s hands off approach toward vital safety net clinics like federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and school-based health centers (SBHCs) has hindered these providers’ ability to further expand their reach and services, and the state has yet to take a leadership role in supporting and expanding the supply of community health workers…
…these companies just to shed the risk and burden associated with managing patient billing and collections. Financial services companies also market their services as helping patients afford their health care bills and tell providers that making these products available to their patients will result in supposed goodwill. Financial services company train medical providers to sell and market these products, while…
…(LEP) population. In 2012, Exchange staff realized the need for “cross departmental” organization of language services, leading to the formation of the Health Equity Technical Advisory Committee. The Committee has since set equity-related benchmarks for Washington Healthplanfinder (the Marketplace website) and Customer Support Center. In its language access plan, the Exchange outlines available written language services, policies to assist LEP…
By JoAnn Volk and Sabrina Corlette One year ago, the United States transitioned to a new, three-digit nationwide number for suicide prevention and mental health crisis response services. The new hotline is intended to offer an alternative to calling 911 for a behavioral health crisis. Still, many communities rely on law enforcement response teams to assist those experiencing a behavioral…
…Some states explicitly prohibit facility fee billing for specific settings or services. Other states ensure some financial protection by limiting cost sharing or prohibiting balance billing for certain facility fees. And states are also promoting greater financial transparency through hospital reporting requirements. Due to difficulties determining where care was provided from claims data—a barrier for both policymakers pushing for reforms…
…not known how many people are enrolled in hospital or fixed indemnity policies, several studies have documented these companies’ aggressive marketing and sales tactics, many of which lead consumers to believe they are purchasing a comprehensive health insurance policy when they are not. The tri-agencies also observe that companies are designing and packaging these policies to more closely resemble comprehensive…
…Facility Fees and How They Affect Health Care Prices: Policy Explainer Health Care Cost Institute. Researchers at the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) published data looking at the impact of facility fees on health care costs as well as a primer on facility fees and how policymakers are responding to this cost driver. What it Finds A facility fee is…
By Sabrina Corlette, Karen Davenport, and Emma Walsh-Alker The high and rising cost of health care is reducing people’s access to critical services, suppressing workers’ income, and reducing business competitiveness. Many state employee health plans (SEHPs) are the largest commercial health care purchaser in their state, making them uniquely situated to tackle health care costs and exert pressure on insurers…
…prices for individual providers would have significant benefits, including greater visibility, standardization, and comprehensiveness (self-funded plan data would be included). The data would also be made freely available. A national APCD also has significant advantages over the insurer and hospital data files required under current federal regulations. Such a database would enable more comprehensive price comparisons, and could incorporate more…
By Emma Walsh-Alker Happy Pride Month from CHIR! Each June, Pride is an opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and honor the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights—including in health care access. This blog will examine the systemic barriers to health care coverage that the LGBTQ+ community faces, and highlight a few key coverage and access issues that continue to impact…
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