States remain motivated to adopt reforms that improve affordability and expand access to coverage for populations that still lack access to care. State public option–style plans are a key candidate for consideration. In a post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts provide an update on states that have established or are laying groundwork for public option–style plans.
Washington State’s “public option” program is now in its third year. After initial cost and access challenges hindered the program’s reach, growing insurer participation and recent enrollment data suggest meaningful progress is being made. CHIR’s Christine Monahan and Madeline O’Brien provide an update on how Washington’s public option plans performed in the recently concluded open enrollment period, outlining key issues to watch as Washington moves forward with its first-in-the-nation program.
Democrats in Congress have put forward several proposals to create a public health insurance option over the past decade. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR’s Christine Monahan and Kevin Lucia break down the main features of four bills from the 117th Congress that would establish new public option plans.
Employer-sponsored insurance is the largest source of health coverage in the U.S., but the employer market’s historic status as the “backbone” of the U.S. health care system is imperiled by rising health care costs. A public health insurance option could help reduce health care costs and expand access to coverage for people with job-based insurance, and has received increasing support among employers.
While federal health coverage reforms remain stalled in Congress, several states are pushing forward to establish modified versions of public health insurance options. In their latest post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR’s Christine Monahan, Justin Giovannelli, and Kevin Lucia provide an update on implementation of public option-style plans in Washington, Colorado, and Nevada.
Congressional leaders requested input from the public on how to design a federal public health insurance option. CHIR’s Christine Monahan compiled and reviewed dozens of publicly available responses and shares key takeaways, as well as links so you can take a closer look.
In recent months, Washington, Colorado, and Nevada, have enacted public option-style laws aimed at containing costs and increasing access to health insurance coverage. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts Christine Monahan, Kevin Lucia, and Justin Giovannelli examine these efforts and their implications for federal and state policymakers.
The CHIR team is excited to transition into spring, as with the warmer weather has come some great new health policy research! This month, Nia Gooding reviewed studies on best practices for implementing the No Surprises Act, the American Rescue Plan Act’s effect on insurance premiums, demographic variations in the U.S. uninsured population, and models for implementing a public option.
New polling finds the public option plan is popular, but how are such proposals faring in the states? A new report from Georgetown CHIR assesses states’ efforts to enact public option plans and opportunities and challenges for future action.
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.
