Happy New Year! The holiday season may be over, but health policy researchers continue to bestow gifts onto our field. In December, we read about disruptions in health insurance coverage, the uninsured population, and gaps in provider network oversight. This roundup will highlight key findings of these articles, as well as their significance for our work.
Open Enrollment is drawing to a close; in most states, consumers only have until January 15 to sign up for a 2023 marketplace plan. To help with last-minute shopping for health insurance, this week’s set of FAQs from our Navigator Resource Guide focuses on comparing plan options.
Following the Trump administration’s decision to roll back federal network adequacy standards for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, the Biden administration signaled it will soon resume oversight, proposing new, quantitative standards as well as proactive compliance procedures. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Justin Giovannelli examines current state and federal approaches to network adequacy, and what would change under the new standards proposed by the Biden administration.
Provider networks and prescription drug coverage are important consideration for consumers when choosing a plan. As part of CHIR’s weekly series highlighting FAQs from our updated Navigator Resource Guide, this week we discuss how to make sure your plan provides access to the doctors, prescription drugs, and culturally competent care that you need.
Washington State enacted a first-of-its-kind public option, with the state-procured plans available beginning in 2020. But the inaugural year yielded underwhelming results, with fewer than 2,000 people enrolled in the plans and premiums that were on average higher than the prior year’s rates. After identifying several barriers to the program’s success, Washington enacted legislation this year to bolster the state’s public option.
In Congress and state legislatures across the country, policymakers are debating fixes to surprise medical bills. The federal government has yet to enact comprehensive reforms, but a number of states have taken steps to protect consumers. One such state is Texas, which last year enacted a new law holding consumers harmless in situations that commonly lead to surprise medical bills. However, the state’s new protections were almost gutted due to an implementation loophole, a cautionary tale for federal and state policymakers. CHIR’s Rachel Schwab takes a look at what happened in Texas.
Recently, the Trump administration issued a request for information (RFI) seeking recommendations on ways to facilitate the sale of insurance across state lines, allowing insurers to bypass the insurance standards of states that have strong consumer protections and benefit requirements by headquartering in a state with few regulations in place. The policy is often touted as a way to reduce the cost of coverage and improve consumer choice, but states and insurers have been reluctant to embrace it. A CHIR study conducted after the ACA was signed into law sheds light on why.
The Obama Administration has delayed a promised rollout of a new network size rating system on healthcare.gov. Sabrina Corlette takes a look at the proposed ratings, the reasons for delay, and what it all means for consumers.
Now that open enrollment is over, consumers are starting to raise questions about their coverage. One such question from Georgia illustrates one of the challenges consumers may face – a network that changes mid-year. JoAnn Volk takes a look at some options.
While we’re struggling with Affordable Care Act (ACA) issues, there’s value in taking the time to look back and appreciate the impact of the ACA and other healthcare reforms implemented over the past few decades. To that end, former insurance commissioner and health insurance company executive Sally McCarty begins a series of blogs that compare the healthcare coverage landscape before and after reform. The series is called “Back in the Day – Lessons from Pre-reform Days,” and begins with a look at narrow networks.
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.
