Tag: health equity

Improving Race and Ethnicity Data Collection: A First Step to Furthering Health Equity Through the State-Based Marketplaces

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The ACA’s marketplaces are working to advance health equity. State-based marketplaces are uniquely situated to improve health equity if they can close current gaps in race and ethnicity data. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Dania Palanker, Jalisa Clark, and Christine Monahan examine the landscape of marketplace race and ethnicity data, and detail strategies for the upcoming open enrollment period to improve data collection.

What Four States Are Doing to Advance Health Equity in Marketplace Insurance Plans

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The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) led to historic reductions in racial and ethnic disparities related to health insurance coverage. However, equal access to health coverage is not enough to ensure health equity. In their latest issue brief for the Commonwealth Fund, Dania Palanker and Nia Denise Gooding examine how four state-based health insurance marketplaces have acted to reduce health inequity, and outline considerations for other state-based marketplaces developing a health equity strategy.

February Research Roundup: What We’re Reading

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In honor of Black History Month, for the February edition of CHIR’s monthly research roundup we reviewed new health policy research centering the experiences of Black people in the U.S. health care system, including structural racism in health care policy, the impact of state Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation on racial and ethnic minority populations, and trends in coverage, care access, and health outcomes among Black Americans.

New Data Show Medical Debt Disproportionately Affects the Most Vulnerable Populations

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Unpaid medical bills are among the largest contributors to personal debt in the United States. Evidence indicates that medical debt disproportionately affects people of color and individuals with lower incomes. CHIR’s Maanasa Kona reviews new data from the Census Bureau and state court records that demonstrate the disparate impact of medical debt on vulnerable populations, and explores what policymakers can do to protect consumers from aggressive debt collection.

PrEP Coverage Obstacles Highlight Challenges Implementing the ACA Preventive Services Requirement

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The ACA requires coverage of recommended preventive services without cost-sharing for consumers enrolled in most private health plans. But even with these protections in place, some insurers improperly impose cost sharing for preventive services. Recently, this problem hit consumers who use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that can prevent contraction of HIV.

Oregon’s Public Option Implementation Report Emphasizes Cost Containment, Health Equity

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The Oregon Health Authority recently released its Public Option Implementation Report, stemming from a legislative directive to develop a plan to make a public health insurance option available in the individual (and potentially small group) market. CHIR’s Christine Monahan takes a look at what’s in the new report and what’s next for the Oregon public option initiative.

Changes to Wellness Programs Suggest Employers are Rethinking Health Promotion

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January can feel like a time for new beginnings, and new year’s resolutions. In recent years, many employers have provided workplace wellness programs that may help employees stick with these resolutions, such as benefits, services, or financial incentives that encourage workers to improve their health. Recent data from KFF’s 2021 Employer Health Benefit Survey showing that employers are reconsidering key elements of their wellness initiatives prompted CHIR to take a look at some of the changes—and ongoing issues—with workplace wellness programs.

ACA Section 1557 as a Tool for Anti-racist Health Care

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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has narrowed racial and ethnic health disparities. But significant gaps persist, driven in no small part by structural racism. In a new piece for Health Affairs Forefront, Jamille Fields Allsbrook and CHIR faculty Katie Keith discuss how the Biden administration can use its existing authority under Section 1557 of the ACA and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to better ensure anti-racist health care and insurance.

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.