Tag: preventive services

Health Policy Pride: An Overview of Private Coverage Issues Impacting the LGBTQ+ Community

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Happy Pride Month from CHIR! Each June, Pride is an opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and honor the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights—including in health care access. CHIR’s Emma Walsh-Alker examines the systemic barriers to health care coverage that the LGBTQ+ community faces, and highlights a few key coverage and access issues that continue to impact LGBTQ+ individuals with private health insurance.

Preserving the ACA’s Preventive Services Protections in the Wake of Braidwood v. Becerra: A Checklist of State Options

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On May 15, 2023, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily paused the Braidwood v. Becerra ruling by a federal district court. That court’s decision would have blocked federal enforcement of the ACA’s requirements that insurers cover and waive cost-sharing for preventive services. In their latest post for the State Health & Value Strategies project, Sabrina Corlette and Tara Straw discuss who is impacted, and how states can help protect their residents.

Searching for a New Normal: How Expiration of the Federal Public Health Emergency Impacts Access to Health Care Services

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After more than three years, the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is set to expire on May 11, 2023. Once the PHE designation is lifted, a number of federal policies intended to help the U.S. health care system adapt to the pandemic will also expire. CHIR’s Emma Walsh-Alker reviews selected policies tied to the PHE and evaluates how the impending expiration will impact consumers’ access to services.

The ACA’s Preventive Services Benefit Is in Jeopardy: What Can States Do to Preserve Access?

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A federal judge is poised to gut one of the most popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive services requirement, potentially cutting off millions of peoples’ access to crucial care such as flu shots and cancer screenings. In a post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR researchers look at states that have codified the ACA’s preventive service requirement, identifying gaps and opportunities to bolster state-level protections.

Federal Court Decision Threatens the ACA’s Preventive Services Benefit: State Options to Mitigate Harm to Consumers

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A federal judge in Texas has ruled that Affordable Care Act requirements that insurers cover and waive cost-sharing for preventive services is unconstitutional. While the case is likely to be appealed, states can act now to preserve residents’ access to affordable and often life-saving preventive care. In a new Expert Perspective for the State Health & Value Strategies project, Sabrina Corlette and Justin Giovannelli outline how.

From Cancer Screenings to Prenatal Care, the Latest Challenge to the Affordable Care Act Threatens Availability of Free Preventive Services

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The ACA requires that most insurers and employers cover a set of preventive health services at no cost to enrollees. Estimates suggest that more than 150 million people have access to over 100 services such as cancer screenings, contraception, and vaccines without any out-of-pocket costs. A case pending in federal court threatens to cut off consumers’ access by allowing insurers to impose cost-sharing on these services or, in some cases, cease covering them altogether. CHIR’s Rachel Schwab takes a look at some of the currently free services in jeopardy.

Updated Breast Pump Coverage Guidelines Provide Important Protections for Families but More Guidance May Be Needed to Increase Access

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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends feeding infants breastmilk through their first year. One of the barriers to doing so is cost. The Affordable Care Act requires most health insurance plans to cover breastfeeding services and supplies without cost sharing, but gaps in access for enrollees have underscored the need for policy changes. CHIR expert and new mom Christine Monahan looks at new federal guidelines on the coverage of breastfeeding services and supplies going into effect next year and how they will make it easier for many parents to provide their infants breastmilk.

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.

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.