Tag: health equity

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.

State-Based Marketplaces Eye Health Equity, Expanding Enrollment Under New Federal Grants

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Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced $20 million in grant funding for the 21 state-based marketplaces (SBM). The federal funding, allocated under the American Rescue Plan, will allow SBMs to modernize their technology platforms, outreach programs, and other systems and operations to ensure compliance with federal requirements, including the temporary expansion of marketplace subsidies. CHIR’s Rachel Schwab takes a look at some of the initiatives SBMs are planning with the new grant funding.

How Insurers Can Advance Health Equity Under the Affordable Care Act

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In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, Katie Keith highlights several Affordable Care Act requirements that have not been fully utilized by insurers — resulting in gaps that exacerbate disparities. The post identifies examples where insurers and regulators could do more to turn commitment on health equity and racial justice into action. 

July Research Roundup: What We’re Reading

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July’s latest health policy research is provided by CHIR’s Nia Gooding in our monthly roundup. She reviews studies on health equity and health plan benefit design, 2022 insurer rate filings, and employer market power in hospital price negotiations.

June Research Roundup: What We’re Reading

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For June’s monthly roundup of health policy research, Nia Gooding reviewed studies on ground ambulance rides and surprise medical bills, the ways health plan pricing mechanisms affect health disparities, and the impact of using auto-enrollment to achieve universal coverage.

Workplace Wellness Programs Have Overlooked Health Equity

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One of President Biden’s first executive actions was to require the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to withdraw regulations governing workplace wellness programs. CHIR’s Julie Zuckerbrod considers how these programs can exacerbate racial and ethnic inequities in health care access and outcomes, and opportunities for the Biden administration to advance equity-focused regulations.

New Report Provides State Policy Recommendations on How to Protect Consumers, Reduce Disparities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented threats to health and safety, and exacerbates existing inequities that continue to jeopardize the wellbeing of millions of Americans. To help state policymakers during a time of great upheaval and uncertainty, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Consumer Representatives put together recommendations on access to coverage and care, health equity and racial justice, and other state policy issues.

July Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

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This month, CHIR’s Mari Tikoyan read studies on the role of the Affordable Care Act in addressing health insurance disparities among Asian Americans, the impact of COVID-19 on health insurance coverage, and the price of COVID-19 testing.

November Research Round Up: What We’re Reading

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This month, CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe dug into studies on health care financing equity, insurer and consumer participation in the individual market, consumer plan decision-making, and access to specialty providers.

The Affordable Care Act: Efforts to Address Barriers to Health Equity

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Disparities in health insurance coverage and accessing health care continue to be a challenge in the United States. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made impressive strides to reduce overall health disparity by ensuring that health equity exists with health insurance coverage and accessing care. Current CHIR intern and guest blogger, Julia Embry, summarizes some of the ACA’s progress to address health equity in the United 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.