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.
2014 brings sweeping new health insurance protections for consumers, but for those reforms to be realized state insurance regulators need to make sure health plans comply with the law. A recent report released by the NAIC consumer representatives details best practices and provides recommendations to states to improve enforcement and better protect consumers. Sabrina Corlette has this overview.
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.
Almost two months into open enrollment, Navigators and other consumer assisters must field a multitude of questions about plan options inside the marketplace and out, how individual and employer-sponsored coverage may change as a result of the ACA, and whether consumers have the coverage they need to satisfy the individual mandate. Today, CHIR released a Navigator Resource Guide that helps Navigators explain key insurance and marketplace concepts and accurately answer a wide range of questions.
The new health insurance marketplaces open for business today. In a blog originally posted on The Commonwealth Fund blog, Kevin Lucia, Sabrina Corlette and Sarah Dash remind us that while the marketplaces, like all start-ups, are likely to experience some early glitches, for the millions who have been shut out of coverage because of a pre-existing condition or an inability to afford insurance, we are entering a new era of consumer-focused health insurance.
You have to give them credit – health insurers are showing just how creative they can be at shirking their obligation to provide new consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act. Sabrina Corlette takes a look at one of their latest tactics.
A number of states have acted in recent years to exempt health care sharing ministries from traditional insurance market rules. Katie Dunton examines this trend, the implications under the Affordable Care Act, and the impact on consumers.
Last week the Administration released its final rule implementing the ACA's insurance market reforms. Many of these provisions have generated deserved attention for the important protections they'll bring to consumers. Getting less attention, but just as important, are the rule's rate review provisions. Sabrina Corlette takes a look.
Yesterday three federal agencies released a set of Frequently Asked Questions about ACA implementation, addressing new employer requirements and the status of certain insurance products. Sabrina Corlette takes a look.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has appointed former Senator Ben Nelson as it's new CEO. As one of the NAIC's consumer representatives, Sabrina Corlette welcomes Senator Nelson to his new role.
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.
