Congress recently passed legislation allowing states to decide on the shape of the market for small business health insurance. Which states took action, and how? In their latest blog post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR researchers Sabrina Corlette, Ashley Williams and Kevin Lucia share findings from a 50-state review.
President Obama’s 2017 budget includes a new proposal to help protect consumers from unexpected charges by out-of-network providers. In a recent blog post for Health Affairs, Sandy Ahn, Jack Hoadley and Sabrina Corlette discuss the proposal in the context of recent state actions to counter balance billing.
The quarterly earnings calls of publicly traded health insurance companies can provide insights into major business developments, as well as how company executives expect market trends and policy actions to affect future performance. CHIR’s Emily Curran regularly listens into these calls and highlights how they can be useful for health policy wonks.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzes the relative adequacy of provider networks of health plans sold through the new insurance marketplaces and those offered through state Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP). Sean Miskell, our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, takes a look.
It’s tax time, so consumers are figuring out how to report their health insurance coverage as they prepare to file. CHIR’s Navigator Resource Guide has answers to some frequently asked questions. Hannah Ellison shares highlights.
In the wake of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance market reforms, policy experts have raised concerns that there could be greater incentives for small businesses to self-fund their health plans. Self-funding can be attractive for some small groups, but also can pose significant risks. In the wake of a white paper from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, two states have stepped up to address concerns. Ashley Williams has the latest.
At last, the Internal Revenue Service has released guidance about what to do when a consumer has overlapping coverage through Medicaid and the Marketplace. Our colleague Tricia Brooks of Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families has the details.
The latest financial filings with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners show that 2015 was a rough year for the CO-OP plans created under the ACA. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette takes a look at some of the reasons the CO-OPs have struggled.
When the administration finalized Marketplace regulations for 2017 and beyond earlier this week, it officially expanded roles for Navigators. While much of what CHIRblog had previously described under the proposed rule from November has been retained in the final rules, Sandy Ahn provides a brief update of the additional Navigator duties.
Last week, HHS, Treasury and Labor released a proposed revised template for the Summary of Benefits and Coverage, giving the public 30 days to comment. JoAnn Volk provides an update on the long road to these changes, including key changes sought by consumers.
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.
