We’re getting into the nitty gritty of implementation, and there’s no shortage of questions about how states, the exchanges, and health insurers should operationalize some of the Affordable Care Act’s key requirements as we hurtle towards 2014. HHS’ Center on Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) has a help desk for state officials and health insurers and the word is…
…one of the more transparent rate review programs in the country, the report identifies ways the Division can do more to make the review process more consumer-friendly, such as notifying consumers and small businesses about rate proposals that affect them, and ensuring they have sufficient opportunity to comment. During my visit to Oregon, Insurance Division officials were excited about the…
…terrorism-related events, see this GAO report and this NAIC resource list.) Finally, those without comprehensive medical care – such as a limited benefit policy or drug discount plan – could find that they face significant out-of-pocket costs because their plan covers less than expected. Such policies are not regulated in the same way as comprehensive health insurance coverage and include…
…the workforce, who also has children under the age of 26; individuals with complex health conditions who feel their $200/month premium is too high and want a different plan; or lingering questions about asset tests for subsidies and Medicaid. These types of questions are common, and according to the panelists, demonstrate the information gap many consumers have. Consumer assistance programs…
…House Republicans and passed – on a party line vote – out of the Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday. It is expected to go before the House Rules Committee next week. The program these Republicans want to expand is the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program, which created temporary high-risk pools for the long-term uninsured. I wrote about the…
By Joe Touschner, Center for Children and Families With the final rule on EHBs, another on market reforms, and some additional guidance from HHS, we’re getting a clearer picture of how one important set of benefits—dental care—will work for kids in EHB-covered plans next year. As readers know, those are new private plans in the individual and small group market….
…years than in the years prior to passage. They also observed that some of the actuarial studies being cited don’t really assess the premium impact for comparable plans. Rather, they compare premiums for people currently enrolled in individual coverage with the premiums in the new plans coming on line in 2014 (for a deeper dive on comparing these recent reports,…
By Christine Barber, Senior Policy Analyst, Community Catalyst This past weekend, insurance commissioners and their staff, along with insurance companies, brokers, other industry representatives, and a few intrepid consumer representatives gathered at the Spring meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in Houston. While the meeting did not hold as may controversies as in the past, there were…
…and/or certification of navigators. Validation of whether insurance agents or brokers are licensed. Collection and tracking of consumer complaints about brokers. Verification of an insurance company’s state license, and whether they are “in good standing” with the state. Collection and tracking of consumer complaints about their health plan. They noted that the existing NAIC database of consumer complaints probably doesn’t…
…states can be found at www.rwjf.org and www.healthpolicycenter.org. The report was written by faculty and staff at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR). CHIR is composed of a team of nationally recognized experts on private health insurance and health reform. For updates on these and other health insurance reform issues, stay tuned to CHIRblog!…
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.
