Last year, we talked with Navigators to learn about how they reached consumers despite major funding cuts. In light of a number of new policy changes and further funding decreases, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe checked in with Navigators and assisters from five states on how they fared in this year’s Open Enrollment, and the challenges ahead.
We are now in the midst of the longest-ever shutdown of U.S. government agencies, resulting in closed offices, furloughed workers, and discontinued services. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette takes a look at how the shutdown is affecting the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
Open Enrollment has ended in the majority of states, and almost 8.5 million people signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov. As consumers begin to use their 2019 plans, a host of questions about covered services, cost sharing, provider networks and more are sure to crop up. Luckily, CHIR has answers to frequently asked post-enrollment questions in our recently updated Navigator Resource Guide.
Many people make New Year’s resolutions, with popular ones being to get healthy and save money. In that spirit, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe highlights three December studies that focus on families’ spending on health care and a new federal proposal to encourage the use of health reimbursement accounts.
Consolidation among hospitals and physician practices is driving a steady rise in health care costs. Employers who purchase insurance and the payers that negotiate on their behalf have a limited set of tools available to counter providers’ demands, but they have also displayed a complacency that has allowed prices to rise with little resistance. In a post for the Health Affairs blog, Sabrina Corlette, Jack Hoadley, and Katie Keith share findings from a series of market-level case studies on responses to provider consolidation.
A district court judge in Texas has issued a ruling that could throw close to one-fifth of the U.S. economy into chaos and upend health care for millions. While the case over the future of the Affordable Care Act wends its way through the courts, CHIR takes a moment to think about what the decision could mean for the consumers and families for whom the law has been a literal lifeline.
Open Enrollment for 2019 has ended in most states, but consumers are sure to be bombarded with sales pitches for alternative insurance products well beyond the December 15th deadline. Short-term plans are often marketed as lower-priced substitutes for ACA-compliant coverage, even though they cover far less. Since the Trump administration lowered federal guardrails on short-term plans, it has become particularly important for state insurance departments to highlight the limitations of these products. CHIR looked at insurance department websites to see what information was available for consumers regarding short-term plans.
This November, we at CHIR celebrated Thanksgiving with a Research Buffet. CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe digs into research that looks at issues including health insurance literacy, the financial implications of subsidized health insurance, the impact of the Affordable Care Act on American workers, and Medicare Advantage.
Employers currently insure 155 million people, but many are finding it increasingly challenging to maintain this benefit in the face of rising costs. One of the primary drivers of these costs is high provider prices. Some employers are taking matters into their own hands by disrupting traditional modes of care delivery. CHIR’s Emily Curran takes look at some of the tactics that have been gaining traction among employers.
States have begun to respond to the Trump administration’s new rules for association health plans with a wide range of regulatory strategies. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR researchers analyzed how states are using their authority to set association health plan standards and protect consumers, providers, and their markets.
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.
