To help make coverage more comprehensive, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to cover a minimum set of health insurance benefits, known as “essential health benefits.” JoAnn Volk and Max Levin provide an update on how many states have selected their essential health benefits benchmark plan and help translate what it means for consumers.
Thanks to the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CHIRblog will feature profiles of everyday people across the country who will – or have already – benefited from new consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act. Sabrina Corlette tells us about Joshua and his family's struggle to obtain affordable, quality insurance that will cover the care he needs for his heart syndrome in the first personal story in our new series, “Real Stories, Real Reforms.”
As stakeholders wrap up their comments on ACA proposed rules published last month, JoAnn Volk takes another look at where things stand in the market reform and EHB rules.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) held its annual summer meeting in Atlanta from August 11 to August 14. Katie Keith discusses the most interesting things heard at the meeting.
On November 16, state regulators and interested parties held the first public meeting of the NAIC's new Health Care Reform Regulatory Alternatives Working Group, charged with providing a forum for discussing open issues and alternatives to state-based exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. Katie Keith has highlights from this meeting and previews what the group might discuss at the next NAIC national meeting later this month.
The election results mean full steam ahead with implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The ultimate success of the law will hinge on decisions yet to be made by the federal agencies and the states. Sabrina Corlette blogs about the flurry of regulations and guidance we can expect in the coming days and weeks.
Last week, California became the second state in the nation to pass legislation adopting its essential health benefits benchmark plan while Colorado became the eighth state to publically recommend a benchmark plan. Max Levin summarizes these developments and provides an update on state implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s essential health benefits requirements.
The Office of Personnel Management has released new information about the Multi-State Plan Program, designed to inject new competition into state insurance markets. Sabrina Corlette examines their proposal and highlights some key issues for health care decision-makers.
Continuing our “Real Stories, Real Reforms” series, CHIRblog presents our second profile of everyday people across the country who will – or have already – benefited from new consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act. JoAnn Volk tells us about Henry, his family’s struggle to obtain affordable, quality insurance, and how the Affordable Care Act may help.
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.
