Tag: affordable care act

Our Heartfelt Thanks to Affordable Care Act Navigators and Assisters – and a New Resource

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We’ve wrapped up the Affordable Care Act’s second open enrollment season and sign-ups exceeded expectations, in large part thanks to the hard work of navigators and assisters. As part of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded project, navigators in five states send us their toughest and most complicated cases. To help others facing similar issues, we’ve created a new compilation of our most frequently asked questions during open enrollment. The Georgetown technical assistance team shares it here.

Getting MAGI Right: Current Monthly Income Vs. Projected Annual Income

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Under the Affordable Care Act, new rules for counting household size and income for purposes of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility were aligned with the calculation of Marketplace subsidies. Following up on a primer she drafted on the basics of MAGI, our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, Tricia Brooks, drills down on income eligibility for Medicaid, CHIP, and premium tax credits.

Coverage that Falls Outside Affordable Care Act Protections: A Primer on “Excepted Benefits” and Short Term Health Insurance

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As consumers shop for health insurance, many may be offered coverage, such as “excepted benefit” plans or short-term, limited duration policies that fall outside of the protections required in the Affordable Care Act. CHIR’s Kayla Connor shares a primer on these policies, published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Health Reform Assistance Network.

The Hidden Enrollment Weapon? What First-Year Experiences of Health Insurance Brokers Tell Us about Barriers and Opportunities for Their Engagement with the Marketplaces

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Health insurance agents and brokers drove a significant portion of enrollment into the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces in the first year, and continue to play an important role this year. In an issue brief released this week by Georgetown’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms and the Urban Institute, researchers document some of the early barriers to more robust broker engagement with the marketplaces, as well as opportunities for more effective partnerships in the future. Sabrina Corlette has this overview.

Understanding Federal Guidance on Reference Pricing: A New Primer from Georgetown’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms

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Some employer health plans have begun to respond to dramatic differences in the cost of medical procedures through reference pricing. CHIR’s Kayla Connor shares a new primer prepared for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Health Reform Assistance Network that helps insurance regulators understand the latest federal rules on reference pricing and potential consumer protection issues.

Workplace Wellness Programs in the News

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Your employer may want to help you meet your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight or get fit by providing you with some financial incentives. JoAnn Volk takes a look at the current state of workplace wellness programs and recent action at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The First Tax Filing Season under the Affordable Care Act is Approaching: What Do Marketplace Consumers Need to Know?

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The 2014 tax season will be the first time tax filers will have to report on their health insurance coverage. Marketplace consumers, particularly those receiving premium tax credits, will need to take a few more steps when completing their 2014 taxes. Sandy Ahn provides a short summary of tax forms that marketplace consumers will be using.

Are People in Immigrant Families Gaining Coverage Under Health Reform?

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Although we are in the midst of the second open enrollment period under health care reform, we still don’t have good data on whether people in immigrant families are gaining access to coverage. What we do know suggests we’re making some progress, but that challenges remain. Our Georgetown colleague Sonya Schwartz gets us up to speed.

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.