From price variation in hospital services paid by private insurers to how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has affected part-time workers, researchers have brought us plenty of interesting health policy findings this month. In October, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe breaks down studies that examine coverage trends, health care costs, immigrant health, and insurers’ marketplace participation and financial performance.
Last week, the Trump administration issued long-anticipated guidance regarding the ACA’s Section 1332 “innovation waiver” program. The guidance breaks dramatically with past policy and, arguably, with the statute it purports to interpret, inviting states to undermine coverage for people with preexisting conditions. CHIR’s Justin Giovannelli analyzes the guidance and its implications.
Across the country, states are yet again dealing with policy changes just before the fall open enrollment season. Virginia, however, is a special case. The state is dealing with simultaneous implementation of Medicaid expansion, expanded short-term limited duration insurance and association health plans, and changes to the definition of sole proprietors for small employers, all with less funding for the navigator program. CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe breaks down how each change affects Virginians.
With open enrollment into the Affordable Care Act marketplaces beginning November 1st, there will be considerable divergence among states in the amount of information and personalized assistance consumers receive about coverage options. While the federally run marketplace has dramatically cut back its investments in both advertising and the Navigator program, the state-based marketplaces are making big investments in those activities. In their latest To The Point blog for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and Rachel Schwab discuss the findings from a new survey of state-based marketplaces.
This September, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe focuses in on health care spending and costs with new studies on how consolidation impacts individual market premiums, spending under employer-sponsored health insurance, the effects of removing financial incentives for quality, and pharmaceutical reference pricing. With health care costs at the forefront of consumers’ minds, these new studies shed light on what contributes to America’s exorbitant health spending.
On September 12, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released the in-person assistance awards for the 2018-2019 enrollment season. The Administration allotted $10 million to the federally facilitated marketplaces, a more than 80 percent drop in funding over two years. CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe explains the risks the funding cuts pose on consumers and the ACA marketplaces.
Within the last month, Delaware has adopted two policies with diametrically different effects on their small business insurance market. One would help make the market stronger and more stable, the other would do the opposite. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette delves into some of the challenges facing states seeking to stabilize their health insurance markets during a time of considerable policy upheaval.
Congressional Republicans plan to pursue another attempt at repealing the Affordable Care Act next year if they maintain control of Congress after the midterm elections in November. Our Center for Children & Families colleague Edwin Park delves into what this would mean for Medicaid and insurance protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
On September 5, 2018, A federal district judge hears arguments in a lawsuit filed by 20 Republican governors and attorneys general to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, including its widely popular protections for people with pre-existing condition protections. Georgetown CHIR’s latest research for The Commonwealth Fund finds that a decision for the plaintiffs in this case could be be felt quite differently, depending on where you live.
The Texas Medical Association recently issued a warning to consumers about the risks of health care sharing ministries, noting an increase in calls about these coverage arrangements. Recent CHIR research documents the increased marketing of this coverage to insurance brokers and consumers, as well as the lack of state-level insurance oversight.
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.
