With the change in weather, we’re beginning to field questions related to the upcoming 2015 Open Enrollment period as part of our technical assistance work funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We recently received a question about the consequences of not paying premiums for stand-alone dental plans (SADP) in federally based Marketplaces. Sandy Ahn provides a summary on this issue.
Though open enrollment into the new health insurance marketplaces is a distant memory and folks are gearing up for round 2 later this year, consumers continue to turn to Navigators and other assisters with questions. JoAnn Volk shares – and provides answers to – a selection of questions we’ve been getting from the field.
Now that open enrollment is over, consumers are starting to raise questions about their coverage. One such question from Georgia illustrates one of the challenges consumers may face – a network that changes mid-year. JoAnn Volk takes a look at some options.
While we’re struggling with Affordable Care Act (ACA) issues, there’s value in taking the time to look back and appreciate the impact of the ACA and other healthcare reforms implemented over the past few decades. To that end, CHIR faculty member and former Indiana Insurance Commissioner Sally McCarty is posting a series called “Back in the Day – Lessons from Pre-reform Days.” This installment looks at policies in a “death spiral.”
Navigators have been fielding a range of questions. One that comes up repeatedly is whether an individual who falls into the so-called Medicaid coverage gap and later gets a job with income that would qualify them for premium tax credits can get a special enrollment period. JoAnn Volk takes a look at the options for these individuals.
CHIR faculty Sally McCarty, David Cusano, and Max Farris serve as technical assistance professionals (TAPS) in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation State Health Reform Assistance Network. In that capacity, they have developed the Consumer Services Toolkit to help assure that consumer service representatives in state insurance departments have critical information about the Affordable Care Act at their fingertips. Sally McCarty introduces the toolkit and its components.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi has included a new provision in its plan description that could mean huge costs for plan participants. The new policy does not cover prescription drugs prescribed by out-of-network providers. How does this policy square with the ACA? And what does it mean for consumers? Elissa Dines discusses.
The ACA established new appeal rights for consumers facing a denial of a benefit or service from their health plan. As consumers start to use their new Marketplace coverage, JoAnn Volk takes a look at the health plan appeals process required of all new plans, and what these new rights mean for patients.
High risk pool enrollees face particular challenges transitioning to new coverage when their coverage ends. But announcements in the past week provide relief to both PCIP enrollees as well as those in state-based high risk pools. JoAnn Volk takes a look at what those announcements mean for consumers.
The Kaiser Family Foundation—in collaboration with CHIR experts Kevin Lucia and Katie Keith—has released a new report exploring factors leading to medical debt among people with insurance. Kevin Lucia has this preview.
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.
