CHIRblog

July Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

Posted August 7, 2018 by Olivia Hoppe

Health policy researchers are keeping busy, assessing the impact of recent and potential state and federal actions. CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe digs into new research on how interruptions in insurance coverage impact chronic disease management, the debate over the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate, the innovative ways that California is keeping its risk pool healthy, characteristics of the uninsured in the U.S., and the coverage and premium effects of state-based individual mandates.

Understanding the Market for Short-Term Health Plans: States Prepare to Identify, Oversee Sellers and Products

Posted August 6, 2018 by CHIR Faculty

Last week, the Trump administration issued a final rule reversing federal limits on short-term health coverage, allowing such plans to become a long-term alternative to individual market coverage. On the eve of this policy shift, we surveyed Departments of Insurance in the seventeen state-based marketplace states to better understand their short-term markets. We found that most states do not have a complete picture of which insurers are marketing short-term policies in their state.

Short-term, Limited Duration Insurance Final Rule: Summary and State Options

Posted August 2, 2018 by

The Trump administration has finalized a new federal definition of short-term, limited duration insurance. In a new post for the State Health & Value Strategies project, CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette summarizes the final rule and outlines the policy and regulatory options for states wishing to protect consumers and stabilize their insurance markets.

Coverage That (Doesn’t) Count: How the Short-Term, Limited Duration Rule Could Lead to Underinsurance

Posted July 26, 2018 by Rachel Schwab

Any day now, the Trump administration is expected to publish new rules that will expand access to short-term, limited duration insurance (STLDI). These plans are allowed to discriminate against sick people, exclude coverage of essential health services, and impose lifetime and annual benefit limits. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that the majority of plans expanded under this rule will be considered health insurance. CHIR’s Rachel Schwab takes a closer look at how CBO defines health insurance, and explains how the expansion of STLDI could lead to widespread underinsurance.

Bracing for an Affordable Care Act Enrollment Season Without Navigators: Risks for Consumers and the Market

Posted July 24, 2018 by Olivia Hoppe

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on July 10, 2018 that they would fund up to $10 million for Navigator programs in the 34 federally facilitated marketplace states in 2018, an over 80 percent cut from the program’s original funding. CMS is also encouraging applicants to educate consumers about plans that don’t meet Affordable Care Act standards. CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe explains the effects these changes could have on consumers and the market.

To Understand How Consumers Are Faring in the Individual Health Insurance Markets, Watch the States

Posted July 20, 2018 by Justin Giovannelli

Through both inaction and design, federal policymakers have put the onus on states to ensure access to affordable, adequate health insurance. In a new work for The Commonwealth Fund, CHIR researchers are launching an interactive map that will track and describe state actions likely to affect residents’ access to individual market coverage.

House Committee to Consider Expanding Health Savings Account Tax Breaks for High Income

Posted July 17, 2018 by Edwin Park

On July 11, the full House Ways and Means Committee approved multiple health-related tax bills, many of which would expand tax breaks for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). As Georgetown Center for Children and Families’ Edwin Park explains, these HSA bills would primarily benefit those with high incomes, rather than make health coverage more affordable for low- and moderate-income children and families.

Look Past the Jargon and the Trump Administration’s Risk Adjustment Decision Ultimately Hurts People with Pre-existing Conditions

Posted July 11, 2018 by

The Trump administration recently decided to suspend payments under an obscure Affordable Care Act program called risk adjustment. The issue is technical and full of jargon, but at bottom it’s about undermining protections for people with pre-existing conditions. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette explains why.

The Road Not Traveled: How Policy, Business Decisions in Iowa Led to Higher Premiums

Posted July 9, 2018 by

Iowa’s legislature recently made the extraordinary decision to abdicate that state’s authority over health insurance products. And in doing so they’ve made a bad insurance market worse. In their latest piece for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and Kevin Lucia team up with actuaries at Wakely Consulting Group to assess what premiums and marketplace enrollment in Iowa would look like if the state had taken a slightly different path.

A Main Reason New York and Massachusetts Will Sue the Administration Over the Final AHP Rule? Fraud and Abuse

Posted July 9, 2018 by Emily Curran

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood (D) and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) announced that they will sue the administration over the final association health plan rule released by the Department of Labor on June 19, arguing that it is unlawful, will result in fewer consumer protections, and “invite[s] fraud, mismanagement and deception.” CHIR’s Emily Curran dives into association health plans and their complicated history.