The CHIR team is excited to transition into spring, as with the warmer weather has come some great new health policy research! This month, Nia Gooding reviewed studies on best practices for implementing the No Surprises Act, the American Rescue Plan Act’s effect on insurance premiums, demographic variations in the U.S. uninsured population, and models for implementing a public option.
The No Surprises Act of 2020 sets up a new national framework to protect patients from surprise out-of-network medical billing. There have been numerous questions about whether and how the new federal law will preempt existing state protections. CHIR experts have prepared a handy fact sheet to walk through the nuances.
After seven enrollment cycles on HealthCare.gov, New Jersey and Pennsylvania both launched new state marketplace websites in time for the latest Open Enrollment Period. Both states saw increases in marketplace enrollment over previous years. To understand how this transition went for Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents, and to extract potential lessons for the states that are transitioning to running their own marketplaces, we sought insight from people on the ground: consumer assisters.
President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act on March 11, 2021. The bill includes several provisions to expand people’s access to affordable, comprehensive coverage options. CHIR provides answers to frequently asked questions about the new law’s enhanced premium tax credits.
The U.S. Congress enacted the No Surprises Act in 2020 to protect patients from surprise out-of-network medical bills. Now the federal agencies need to set up a process to resolve disputes between these providers and insurance companies. CHIR experts examine the experience in four states with similar dispute resolution programs and share lessons that can be applied at the national level.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides the largest expansion of public and private health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and the Georgetown Center for Children & Families’ Edwin Park break down its key provisions in a new explainer.
Last month, the Biden administration established a temporary special enrollment period (SEP) on the federal health insurance marketplace in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the first two weeks of the SEP, the federal marketplace saw a rise in enrollment activity, and the expansion of premium subsidies under the American Rescue Plan is expected to generate even greater enrollment increases. CHIR’s Rachel Schwab takes a look at how recent federal actions tap into the Affordable Care Act’s potential and expand its reach.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, this February CHIR’s Nia Gooding reviewed some lovely studies on trends in the uninsured population, the impact of Medicaid expansion on coverage rates and healthcare access among young adults, and the effect that cost-sharing has on patient behavior and health outcomes.
Insurer’s fourth quarter earnings showed a decline in profits after the surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations at the end of the year. CHIR’s Megan Houston considers how the pandemic has impacted health plans and how this fits into overall trends from the past year.
President Biden has recently signed an executive order to re-open the federal marketplace for a COVID-19 Special Enrollment Period. The CHIR team will be highlighting a selection of relevant frequently asked questions (FAQs) from our recently updated Navigator Resource Guide for uninsured consumers who are seeking health coverage during this time. In this installation, we answer FAQs about financial assistance that may be available to some individuals and families.
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.
