Tag: consumers

Balance Billing for Air Ambulance Remains a Problem in Maryland

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Although Maryland is among the handful of states that regulate balance billing for out-of-network situations, as we discuss in a previous report, the state’s law does not address air ambulance charges. Balance billing for air ambulances remain a problem in Maryland and its insurance department held a public meeting last Friday to discuss the issue. CHIR’s Sandy Ahn provides highlights of the meeting and other state efforts to address this consumer problem.

How will Premium Rate Changes Affect Consumers’ Renewals into Marketplace Coverage? Lessons Learned from 2015’s Enrollment Season

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As states finalize premium rates for marketplace plans by August 25, we’ll know the extent of changes for 2016 coverage. How will premium changes affect consumers who may be automatically renewed into coverage? CHIR’s Sandy Ahn shares lessons learned from the first year of marketplace renewals and what can be done to improve consumers’ experiences as we head into the next open enrollment season.

Telemedicine and its Effect on the Regulatory Landscape

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Some states are making policies related to the emergence of telemedicine or the delivery of health care services through telecommunication technology. While states are taking varying approaches, telemedicine can increase access to specialty services such as mental health services and help address network adequacy concerns. CHIR’s Sandy Ahn highlights some of the issues related to telemedicine.

New Guidance Clarifying Preventive Services under the Affordable Care Act

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The Affordable Care Act requires most health plans to cover preventive services without cost sharing and enables consumers to access evidence-based medical care such as cancer screenings and immunizations for children. Implementation of this requirement, however, has raised questions and caused confusion among insurers, providers and consumers. Sandy Ahn reviews the Administration’s most recent guidance on this critical ACA provision, designed to clarify for insurers what they must do to comply and ensure that consumers receive the benefits they are promised under the law.

New Survey of Physicians Finds ACA Did Not Result in Influx of New Patients

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A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Athenahealth finds that the newly insured under the Affordable Care Act did not result in an influx of new patients for physicians. Current medical student and guest blogger Mason Weber summarizes the main findings of the report, which surveyed approximately 16,000 physicians. He also offers his own perspective as a physician-to-be about the lack of discourse on a physicians’ ability to provide care effectively within the larger healthcare reform debate.

Some Changes in Store for 2016 Health Plans that Affect Consumers

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While open enrollment for 2015 has ended, insurers and marketplaces alike are gearing up for 2016 with federal guidance outlined under the 2016 Letter to Issuers and 2016 Benefits and Payment Parameters Final Rule. Sandy Ahn summarizes some of the changes in store for 2016 health plans that affect consumers.

Health Savings Accounts: Understanding the Basics

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There are various routes to getting health insurance coverage for you and your family. One possible option is to have a health savings account (HSA), which must be paired with a high-deductible health plan. In today’s post, Sandy Ahn goes over the basics of a HSA and some things to consider when looking at this option.

Embedded Deductibles: Source of Consumer Confusion

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Understanding how health insurance works can be confusing, particularly when it comes to deductibles, a topic we’ve had a lot of questions about. In today’s post, Sandy Ahn discusses how an embedded deductible works in a health plan for family coverage and compares that to an aggregate deductible. This information is also included in our online Navigator Resource Guide released last month.

State-Based Marketplaces Offer More Health Plan Choices for 2015 Coverage

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One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act is to make health insurance more affordable and accessible, in part by increasing health plan competition. In their latest blog post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR faculty Sean Miskell, Kevin Lucia and Justin Giovannelli find that competition is in fact increasing, and consumers shopping on the state-based marketplaces have more choices among insurers than they did last year.

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.