Last month the Biden administration finalized rules establishing new standards and disclosure requirements for certain limited benefit products. In one of her recent Health Affairs Forefront articles, Sabrina Corlette takes a look at what’s in the final regulations.
As another tax filing season comes to a close, millions of Americans have reduced their taxable income through accounts that help pay for medical costs using a “health savings account” (HSA). Members of Congress have put forth bipartisan proposals to expand HSAs, but with the benefits of these accounts primarily accruing to healthier and wealthier Americans, expanding this option could exacerbate an already regressive tax break without improving access to coverage or care.
Thanks to daylight savings in March, CHIR had more time to keep up with the latest health policy research. Last month, we read studies about Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans and enrollee characteristics, Georgia’s reinsurance waiver, and Oregon’s hospital price cap.
Last month, CHIR experts Rachel Swindle and Karen Davenport shared findings from CHIR’s research on state-level facility fee reforms before House and Senate committees of the Maryland General Assembly.
The final Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters for plan year 2025 is expected soon. The proposed rule included a provision that would permit states to require coverage of adult dental services as part of the Essential Health Benefits. As part of a CHIRblog series on Marketplace dental benefits, CHIR reviewed comments submitted in response to this proposal by select stakeholder groups.
In the United States, immigrants are disproportionately likely to be uninsured. This disparity stems from systemic inequalities such as legal barriers to affordable coverage for noncitizens—especially undocumented immigrants. While state efforts to provide Medicaid-equivalent benefits to some populations of undocumented residents have helped expand access to coverage, many low- and moderate-income undocumented residents remain without affordable health insurance options. In a recent post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Justin Giovannelli and Rachel Schwab explore recent state actions to fill this gap.
According to recent estimates, almost 100 million people have debt because of medical or dental bills. To mitigate this problem, nineteen states and the District of Columbia require hospitals to provide financial assistance to low-income populations, but the process of applying for financial assistance is often cumbersome and inaccessible. In a recent post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Maanasa Kona discusses how some states have made the financial assistance application process easier for their residents.
In February, CHIR used Leap Day to catch up on the latest health policy research. This month we read studies on the uninsurance rate, dynamics between the small-group market and individual Marketplace, and the availability of mental telehealth services.
On March 7, CHIR hosted the second event in a series of policy briefings on the future of employer-sponsored health insurance, sponsored by Arnold Ventures. This event, featuring remarks from Congressman “Bobby” Scott and a panel discussion moderated by Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, focused on the No Surprises Act’s impact on consumers and implementation challenges associated with the independent dispute resolution process.
Last month, the Biden administration reported on independent dispute resolution (IDR) cases resolved under the No Surprises Act in the first half of 2023. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Jack Hoadley and Kevin Lucia analyze the IDR data and what it means for patients, providers, payers, and health care costs.
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.
