Comparing Nondiscrimination Protections under the ACA

HHS released the final Section 1557 rule, completing the suite of non-discrimination rules that constitute some of the most dramatic recent changes in health insurance regulation. JoAnn Volk looks at how the rules stack up in protecting consumers with pre-existing conditions.

Improving Marketplace Coverage for Children

What does coverage look like for children on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces? A new report from Georgetown experts Kelly Whitener, JoAnn Volk, Sean Miskell and Joan Alker examines at the adequacy of coverage, affordability of coverage, and access to providers. This blog post provides some of their topline findings.

Beyond UnitedHealthcare: How Are Other Publicly Traded Insurers Faring on the Marketplaces?

Two-and-one-half years in, how do we assess the success and stability of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces? Much ink has been spilled over the high-profile exit of UnitedHealthcare, but to gain a broader perspective, CHIR experts examined the first quarter earnings calls and regulatory filings for some of the largest, publicly traded insurers that participate in the marketplaces. Their latest article for the Commonwealth Fund shares what they learned.

Understanding Consumers’ Experience with Health Insurance: New California Report on Complaints Provides Insights

Earlier this month, the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) released its first annual report cataloguing consumer complaints and inquiries about their health plans across four California state health agencies. The report examines 27,028 consumer complaints that were closed in 2014. CHIR’s Hannah Ellison explores highlights of the report and discusses its potential for impact.

The Next Stage in Health Reform

Health reform is entering a new stage. Going forward, federal and state policymakers must decide how to use the powers and tools granted them under the Affordable Care Act to stabilize risk pools, improve competition, and promote effective risk management. In this blog post Brookings scholar Henry Aaron and CHIR faculty Kevin Lucia and Justin Giovannelli discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead for the ACA’s marketplaces.

Open Enrollment IV (OE4) is Just around the Corner: Things to Watch

While it seems like we just finished open enrollment, the next round for 2017 coverage is right around the corner. For open enrollment IV, officials will be implementing new policy changes in an effort to ensure not just a better shopping experience, but also to minimize disruptions of coverage and financial assistance. CHIR’s Sandy Ahn and Sabrina Corlette summarize some of the 2017 changes for FFMs below.

New Rules on Special Enrollment Periods: What Do They Mean for Consumers and the Assisters Who Help Them?

What triggers a special enrollment period to allow someone to enroll on the individual market outside of open enrollment has been a hot debated topic of late. Recently the administration issued a new rule tightening what life events trigger a special enrollment period. CHIR’s Sandy Ahn summarizes the new rule and what it means for consumers and the assisters that help them.

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.