When Congress enacted the “No Surprises Act” last year to ban unexpected out-of-network medical bills, it was left to the Biden administration to implement these historic consumer protections. CHIR’s Katie Keith, Jack Hoadley, and Kevin Lucia provide a detailed summary of the first round of federal rules flowing from this new law in their latest post for the Health Affairs blog.
The Biden administration has released its first major set of proposed rules governing the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. In her latest Expert Perspective for the State Health & Value Strategies project, CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette assesses the implications for state-based marketplaces and insurance regulators.
Several states ask for – and publicly post – health insurers’ proposed 2022 premium rates in May and June. These early rate filings can provide hints about how insurers are responding to market trends, policy changes, and emerging drivers of health care costs. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette took a deep dive into insurers’ actuarial memos to find out how they’re thinking about health care spending after COVID-19, the American Rescue Plan, and more.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states temporarily lowered barriers to using telemedicine for health care services. Subsequently, a number of states have taken action to make those changes permanent. In their latest report for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts examine this emerging body of state law and its potential impact on the use of health care services, costs, and outcomes.
Washington State enacted a first-of-its-kind public option, with the state-procured plans available beginning in 2020. But the inaugural year yielded underwhelming results, with fewer than 2,000 people enrolled in the plans and premiums that were on average higher than the prior year’s rates. After identifying several barriers to the program’s success, Washington enacted legislation this year to bolster the state’s public option.
It’s three strikes you’re out for opponents of the Affordable Care Act. For the third – and hopefully final – time, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the latest legal challenge. We at CHIR celebrate this victory for the American people, including the millions that rely on the ACA for coverage.
A new report from Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms presents first-ever findings on the structure and governance of various state employee health plan agencies, the generosity of their plans, and cost containment initiatives each has undertaken in the last three years.
CHIR is pleased to welcome Christine Monahan, J.D. back to our team as an Assistant Research Professor. Christine will be working with us on a range of issues, including coverage expansion and affordability. Join us in welcoming her back to the CHIR family.
Connecticut’s efforts to pass a public option bill for the third year in a row came to an early end in late May when the bill lost Governor Lamont’s support. CHIR’s Maanasa Kona takes a look at the state’s latest attempt and the politics surrounding its failure.
With another month comes a new crop of health policy research. This May, Nia Gooding reviewed studies on the demographic makeup of the uninsured population eligible for marketplace coverage, the association between hospital-physician integration and unnecessary patient referrals, and rationales for replacing silver loading for Marketplace coverage.
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.
