Tag: aca implementation

New Report Finds that, Under the ACA, Consumers Nationwide Are Experiencing Improved Protections in the Individual Insurance Market

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The ACA includes numerous consumer protections designed to remedy shortcomings in the availability, affordability, adequacy, and transparency of individual market insurance. However, because states continue to be the primary regulators of health insurance and implementers of these requirements, consumers are likely to experience some of these new protections differently, depending on where they live. CHIR’s latest issue brief finds that consumers nationwide will enjoy improved protections in each area targeted by the reforms.

State Restrictions on Health Reform Assisters May Violate Federal Law

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Regulations issued last month by the Department of Health and Human Services show that laws in more than a dozen states may be invalid because they go too far in restricting the work of consumer assistance personnel certified under the Affordable Care Act. In a blog post published by The Commonwealth Fund, Justin Giovannelli, Kevin Lucia, and Sabrina Corlette discuss these new rules and how they affect state efforts to regulate consumer assisters.

Georgetown University Law Center Summer Program Promises Deep Dive Training on the Affordable Care Act

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This July the Georgetown University Law Center’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law is offering its first-ever summer program on the Affordable Care Act. The week long program promises a deep dive look at the legal and policy implications of the law and its implementation. Program co-director Sabrina Corlette shares a sneak peek at the faculty and agenda.

Changing Provider Networks In Marketplace Health Plans: Balancing Affordability And Access To Quality Care

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While narrow provider networks are by no means new to health insurance, the practice has received renewed attention as plans participating in the marketplaces turn to network design to keep premium costs low. While consumers benefit from more affordable insurance, overly narrow networks can risk the quality of care consumers receive and increase their out-of-pocket costs. In this blog post originally published by Health Affairs, CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and JoAnn Volk and the Urban Institute’s Robert Berenson and Judy Feder discuss the cost-access trade-offs for consumers and offer a few recommendations for policymakers.

The Extended “Fix” for Canceled Health Insurance Policies: Latest State Action

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In March, the Obama administration extended for two additional years a policy allowing states to permit insurers to renew health plans that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act. In their latest blog post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR researchers Kevin Lucia, Sabrina Corlette, and Ashley Williams document states’ decisions on whether or not to allow the extension of non-compliant plans and the implications for 2015 premiums, SHOP enrollment, and consumer protection.

Florida Complaint Should be Welcomed by Regulators and Advocates

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A recent complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights against four Florida insurers targets them for violating the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition against discrimination. CHIR expert Sally McCarty evaluates the complaint and its implications for consumers and state insurance regulators.

New Federal Guidance Helps Protect People from Discrimination in Benefit Design

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In response to actions by some health plans to impose benefit-specific waiting periods for coverage of serious health conditions, such as organ transplants, the Obama Administration recently issued guidance to prohibit the practice and protect consumers from discriminatory benefit design. Georgetown Law Center’s Sandy Ahn reviews the new guidance and the impact for consumers in this guest post.

New Rules Protect Navigators and Certified Application Counselors from Over-Reaching State Laws but Also Impose New Requirements

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The Obama Administration has released final rules curtailing state laws that overly restrict the ability of navigators and certified application counselors to effectively enroll people into new coverage options through the health insurance marketplaces. Our Georgetown University Center for Children and Families colleague, Tricia Brooks, provides the overview of the rule and what it means for consumer assisters.

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.