Rate Season Begins: Time to Find Out Who’s Up and Who’s Down for 2016
May 15th marks the official start of rate review season for health insurers’ proposed 2016 premium rates. Sabrina Corlette has this preview.
State-Based Marketplaces Look for Financing Stability in Shifting Landscape
State-based marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act are contemplating their financial sustainability now that federal grant dollars are no longer available. In their latest blog post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR researchers examine the range of state approaches to generating revenue and trimming budgets.
The Affordable Care Act’s State Innovation Waivers: A Need for Transparency and a Role for Stakeholders
Discussion of new “superwaiver” authority is a hot topic among many state and health policy circles. The Affordable Care Act allows states to modify key reforms beginning in 2017 through a so-called 1332 waiver application. States could also choose to coordinate this waiver with Medicaid and/or CHIP reforms through a 1115 waiver. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and Joan Alker of the Center for Children and Families assess the waiver process outlined to date and the need for transparency and stakeholder input on the critical policy decisions that will be required.
Activity Afoot on Essential Health Benefits
Did you know states need to select their Essential Health Benefits (EHB) benchmark plan for 2017 in just a few weeks? If not, JoAnn Volk will tell you about the process underway and how advocates can get involved.
Implementing the Affordable Care Act: State Regulation of Marketplace Plan Provider Networks
Narrow network plans were common on the health insurance marketplaces in 2014. In a new issue brief for The Commonwealth Fund, CHIR researchers examine the standards states had in place to regulate plans’ provider networks in the first year of marketplace coverage and describe how states revisited their rules for year two.
New and Improved! The SEP for People Moving Out of the Medicaid Coverage Gap
Beginning this week, a new version of the change in income special enrollment period will take effect, providing a pathway to premium tax credits for some caught in the Medicaid coverage gap. JoAnn Volk provides an update on this “new and improved” SEP.
The Affordable Care Act: The Law Folks Love to Blame
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) can take credit for a historic reduction in the number of people uninsured in this country, but it is also often blamed for a wide range of societal ills. Our colleague Sally McCarty notes one particularly egregious attempt to divert attention from bad policymaking by pinning blame on the ACA.
Healthcare.gov Fixes System Glitch in Counting Social Security Income for Certain Tax Dependents
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that they had fixed a technical glitch in healthcare.gov that may have cost people thousands of dollars in subsidies. Our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, Tricia Brooks, helped to identify the problem early on and offers this take on what CMS can do to help the people affected by the error.
New Web Video: CHIR Researchers Discuss Consumers’ ACA Coverage Experiences
In their latest web video, CHIR researchers JoAnn Volk and Sabrina Corlette discuss the findings from their most recent research report, in which they analyzed consumer experiences with health insurance through the eyes of state consumer assistance programs.
3-Year Navigator Grants Will Provide Stability to Enrollment Assistance
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has published the first indications of where it intends to take the Navigator program for the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges. Some new policies could bring some much needed stability to in-person consumer assistance. Our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, Tricia Brooks, has the details.