A September 12 vote in Oregon would make it the third state to establish a Basic Health Program, after New York and Minnesota. CHIR and Urban Institute researchers recently examined New York and Minnesota’s experiences with the BHP and the lessons learned for other states considering the program.
As summer was winding down, CHIR was reading up on the latest health policy research. In August, we read about differences between Medicare Advantage and commercial plans’ negotiated hospital prices, the affordability of employer-sponsored insurance for older adults, and the expected growth of 2024 Affordable Care Act Marketplace premiums.
CHIR is delighted to welcome Nadia Stovicek (she/her), M.P.P., as our newest faculty member.
The “Colorado Option” – a unique state effort improve health insurance affordability – is underway. With the first year of enhanced premium scrutiny now completed, CHIR experts Christine Monahan, Nadia Stovicek, and Sabrina Corlette examine how the process unfolded and what it means for consumers.
A recently proposed federal rule aims to mitigate the harm of short-term insurance plans, products exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections. In a post for the Commonwealth Fund, Justin Giovannelli, Kevin Lucia, and Christina L. Goe explain the proposed federal rule and describe what else states can do to further protect their residents.
A massive coverage transition is underway for millions of people who have relied on Medicaid throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. After a three-year pause, states have begun disenrolling residents from Medicaid, leaving millions of people in need of new coverage. A secret shopper study conducted in June 2023 suggests that people losing Medicaid are facing aggressive marketing of limited benefit products.
Millions of Americans rely on Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSM) in lieu of insurance to provide a financial cushion if they get sick or injured. But data from HCSM public filings suggest that reliance may be built on a shaky foundation. CHIR’s Nadia Stovicek and JoAnn Volk share their findings.
The No Surprises Act is largely working as intended to protect patients from unexpected medical bills. However, the rising number of Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) cases is creating challenges for the health care system. In a post for Health Affairs Forefront, Jack Hoadley and Kevin Lucia evaluate the causes and implications of the increasing number of IDR cases.
CHIR’s summer reading list includes the latest health policy literature. In July, we read about the disparities in medical debt burdens, policy interventions to reduce choice errors in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace, and the affordability of Marketplace health insurance under subsidy expansion.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published proposed rate changes for 2024 Marketplace plans. In some states, insurers submitted rate requests earlier in the summer, alongside justifications for the proposed changes to next year’s premiums. CHIR dug into the rate requests from select states with early rate filing deadlines to see what’s behind the premiums consumers could be facing in 2024, both on- and off-Marketplace.
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.
