affordable care act

Protecting People with Preexisting Conditions Requires More Than a Piecemeal Approach: An Assessment of a Louisiana Bill to Codify Some, But Not All, ACA Protections

Posted May 15, 2019 by CHIR Faculty

Several state legislatures are considering bills to re-instate the Affordable Care Act’s preexisting condition protections in the event a federal court invalidates the law in Texas v. Azar. While no state can fully protect consumers from the fallout of a bad court decision, attempts to “bake in” the preexisting protections shouldn’t leave large loopholes for insurance companies to exploit. CHIR experts examine a Louisiana bill that would codify some, but not all, of the ACA’s insurance reforms.

April Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

Posted May 15, 2019 by Olivia Hoppe

April showers bring May flowers, and plenty of health policy research. This month, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe reviews studies on the burden of health care costs on families, the affordability of employer-sponsored insurance, the effects of hospital concentration on insurance premiums, and why Medicaid insurers hesitate to sell plans on the Affordable Care Act’s individual market.

Court Strikes Down a Trump Administration Rule Designed to Circumvent the Affordable Care Act

Posted April 15, 2019 by Justin Giovannelli

On March 28, a federal district court struck down the core of the Trump administration’s new regulation regarding association health plans (AHPs). In a new work for The Commonwealth Fund, Justin Giovannelli and Kevin Lucia examine what the ruling means for states, AHPs, and consumers enrolled in these plans.

March Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

Posted April 12, 2019 by Olivia Hoppe

Spring has arrived, and the research is blooming! This March, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe was buzzing around studies on direct enrollment, balance billing from air ambulance rides, affordability for middle-income consumers, and the roles of assisters and support tools.

Affordable Care Act Back in the Spotlight: Build on its Progress or Scrap it Entirely?

Posted March 28, 2019 by

It is hard to find a starker example of the different approaches our two political parties take to health care than the events of March 26, 2019. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette breaks down the Trump administration’s push to have the Affordable Care Act declared unconstitutional and a comprehensive bill to expand coverage and improve affordability, introduced just hours later by leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Happy Birthday to the Affordable Care Act: Your Presence is our Present

Posted March 22, 2019 by Olivia Hoppe

On a chilly March Tuesday in Washington, DC, with the stroke of just 22 pens, health care as we know it in the United States was changed, and you were officially signed into law. For your ninth birthday, we want to give thanks for the gifts you’ve given us over the years.

Stakeholders React to the Administration’s Proposed Rule on Health Reimbursement Arrangements. Part 4: Consumer, Patient, and Union Organizations

Posted March 15, 2019 by Olivia Hoppe

In October, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule that aims to expand the “flexibility and use” of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). To understand reactions to the proposal, CHIR reviewed a sample of comments from state officials, insurers, consumer advocates, and employer, broker and benefit advisor groups. In Part 4 of this blog series, we highlight comments from six consumer and patient advocates and employee unions.

February Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

Posted March 8, 2019 by Olivia Hoppe

For February’s Research Round Up, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe focuses on five studies on health care spending trends, surprise medical bills, and individual market claims denials and appeals.

The Administration Tried to Make It Easier for States to Waive ACA Rules: Will Any Take the Plunge?

Posted February 21, 2019 by Justin Giovannelli

Recent federal guidance made significant changes to the ACA’s section 1332 waiver program in order to give states greater leeway to sidestep ACA rules. But the move has triggered questions about whether the waiver options the Trump administration is touting are practical for states, or even legal. In a new work for The Commonwealth Fund, Justin Giovannelli and JoAnn Volk examine how states are approaching ACA waivers in the wake of the federal policy change.

January Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

Posted February 8, 2019 by Olivia Hoppe

For the January Research Round Up, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe goes over new research that examines the root of high health care spending in the US, the effects of eliminating the individual mandate penalty in California, insurer participation in the individual market, and characteristics of the uninsured population across the country.