ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment Numbers Reveal the Impact of State-Level Policy and Operational Choices on Performance

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During the last open enrollment period, the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces faced a number of headwinds, including federal policy changes predicted to curb enrollment. Given myriad obstacles to enrollment efforts, it came as no surprise that overall marketplace plan selections dropped slightly this year. But a deeper dive into enrollment trends reveals that most state-based marketplaces outperformed the federally facilitated marketplace. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Rachel Schwab and Sabrina Corlette unpack data from the recent open enrollment period to see how the marketplaces performed during a turbulent time, finding that certain policy and operational decisions were associated with better results.

Stakeholders React to HHS’s Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2020. Part 3: Consumer Advocates

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On April 18, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and insurance rules in the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for the 2020 plan year. To gauge stakeholder reactions, CHIR reviewed a sample of these comments. In the third and final of our blog series, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe summarizes responses from a selection of consumer advocates.

Proposed Rule on Basic Health Program Impedes States’ Progress

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Recently, CMS issued a proposed rule modifying the federal funding methodology for the Basic Health Program (BHP) for 2019 and 2020. Under the proposal, technical changes could cause participating states to lose $300 million in federal funding. While funding for the programs is being debated, we checked in on how Minnesota and New York’s BHPs are faring amidst federal uncertainty.

Stakeholders React to HHS’s Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2020. Part 2: State Insurance Departments and Marketplaces

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On April 18, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and insurance rules in the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for the 2020 plan year. The agency received over 26,000 comments on the proposal. To gauge stakeholder reactions, CHIR reviewed a sample of these comments. In the second part of our blog series, Rachel Schwab summarizes responses from a selection of state insurance departments and state-based marketplaces.

March Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

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Spring has arrived, and the research is blooming! This March, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe was buzzing around studies on direct enrollment, balance billing from air ambulance rides, affordability for middle-income consumers, and the roles of assisters and support tools.

New Study: Consumers Don’t Understand That Short-term Plans Lack Protections, Benefits

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A study commissioned by consumer representatives to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) finds that consumers face significant challenges understanding the limitations of short-term health plans. These plans, championed by the Trump administration as a cheap alternative to ACA coverage, can leave consumers facing significant out-of-pocket costs if they have an unexpected medical event.

What Does the Latest Federal Court Decision Mean for Association Health Plans – and the States that Regulate Them?

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On March 28, 2019, a federal district court invalidated the Trump administration’s rule encouraging the formation of association health plans that would be exempt from many Affordable Care Act protections. In her latest “Expert Perspective” for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Health & Value Strategies project, CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette provides an update on the court ruling and implications for state insurance departments.

Affordable Care Act Back in the Spotlight: Build on its Progress or Scrap it Entirely?

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It is hard to find a starker example of the different approaches our two political parties take to health care than the events of March 26, 2019. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette breaks down the Trump administration’s push to have the Affordable Care Act declared unconstitutional and a comprehensive bill to expand coverage and improve affordability, introduced just hours later by leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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.