The Obama administration recently announced that the health insurance Marketplaces can offer consumers retroactive coverage and financial assistance, if technical problems prevented them from enrolling. But the administration’s guidance also leaves some unanswered questions. Sabrina Corlette takes a look and helps us understand what the new policy actually means for consumers.
There are reports that at least some formerly reluctant states are thinking of moving from a federally facilitated to a state-based health insurance marketplace. Our colleague at Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, Sonya Schwartz, walks us through what states need to do to make the transition.
In January, a federal court in Missouri became the first to rule on whether states have the legal authority to restrict the work of the Affordable Care Act’s consumer assistance “navigators.” In a new post for The Commonwealth Fund, Justin Giovannelli, Kevin Lucia, and Sabrina Corlette discuss the decision and explore its significance for Missouri and the other states that have adopted restrictions on navigators and consumer assisters.
A number of states recently filed amicus briefs in a court battle over whether federally facilitated exchanges can provide premium tax credits to low- and middle-income consumers. Because the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate penalties are contingent on employees accessing subsidized coverage through an exchange, the states are asserting that they purposefully opted for federally run exchanges so employers would not face this burden. In a guest post, former CHIR researcher Christine Monahan assesses the veracity of this claim.
New improvements to healthcare.gov are making it easier for consumers to report life changes, correct errors, and change plans. Recent guidance from the federal Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight details the site’s new functionality. Sabrina Corlette takes a look.
Shopping for and selecting a new health coverage plan can be challenging for many consumers. One government program – Medicare Part D – recently announced a new policy to make the process of selecting a prescription drug plan easier for beneficiaries. Sabrina Corlette compares the Medicare approach to that taken by the health insurance marketplaces – and shares new CHIR research on state actions to simplify consumers’ shopping experiences.
The Thanksgiving weekend brought news for health care consumers to be thankful for. Healthcare.gov successfully handled 2 million visitors in 2 days. And the New York Times reported further good news about health care costs. Elissa Dines takes a closer look.
Implementation of the President’s proposed fix for health insurance policy cancellations rests with state officials and insurance companies. Many states opting not to pursue the policy fix are those who have invested the most in the success of the Affordable Care Act. In their latest blog for The Commonwealth Fund, Kevin Lucia, Katie Keith, and Sabrina Corlette evaluate the policy and legal factors underpinning states’ decisions.
The latest Health Affairs podcast features CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette and Bob Laszewski of Health Policy and Strategy Associates. Their wide-ranging conversation covers the roll out of the health insurance marketplaces, ending discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, and the long-term prognosis for reform
A massive consumer outreach and education effort is underway to help consumers understand their new coverage options under the Affordable Care Act. But obstacles remain, particularly in states with federally facilitated marketplaces. In the second of a two-part series of blogs for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR faculty members Sarah Dash, Kevin Lucia, and Justin Giovannelli examined the range of outreach efforts across the states.
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.
