Federal Rule Gives Regulators Enhanced Tools to Ensure Equitable Access to Behavioral Health Care
Last fall, the Biden Administration finalized a rule updating standards for the Mental Health Parity...
Posts tagged with: Commonwealth Fund
Blog Posts:
Enhancing Essential Health Benefits: How States Are Updating Benchmark Plans to Improve Coverage
The Affordable Care Act mandates that health plans in the individual and small-group markets cover e...
If Expanded Federal Premium Tax Credits Expire, State Affordability Programs Won’t Be Enough to Stem Widespread Coverage Losses
The 2021 expansion of federal premium tax credits (PTCs) drove uninsured rates to a record low in 20...
Enforcing Mental Health Parity: State Options to Improve Access to Care
The 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) is the primary federal law protectin...
States Expand Access to Affordable Private Coverage for Immigrant Populations
In the United States, immigrants are disproportionately likely to be uninsured. This disparity stems...
State Options for Making Hospital Financial Assistance Programs More Accessible
According to recent estimates, almost 100 million people have debt because of medical or dental bill...
State Public Option Plans Are Making Progress on Reducing Consumer Costs
States remain motivated to adopt reforms that improve affordability and expand access to coverage fo...
Policy Innovations in the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces
The Affordable Care Act's Marketplaces have seen record signups for 2024. Marketplaces can pursue in...
State Health Equity Initiatives Confront Decades of Racism in the Insurance Industry
As another Marketplace Open Enrollment Period begins, millions of Americans will turn to insurance b...
Uneven Ground: Differences in Language Access Across State-Based Marketplaces
The annual Marketplace Open Enrollment Period is just around the corner. Enrolling in health insuran...
State Protections Against Medical Debt: A Look at Policies Across the U.S.
Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States. Though federal law pro...
Biden Administration Sets Limits on Use of Short-Term Health Insurance Plans, But States Can Do More to Protect Consumers
A recently proposed federal rule aims to mitigate the harm of short-term insurance plans, products e...
States Move Forward with Public Option Programs, but Differ in How They Select Insurance Carriers
Washington, Colorado, and Nevada are partnering with private health insurance carriers to offer new ...
Fixing the Family Glitch and Other Priorities: The Next Wave of Federal Administrative Action to Enhance the Affordable Care Act
The federal government has taken a series of actions to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and...
A Permanent Boost to Federal Premium Assistance Could Change State Approaches to ACA 1332 Waivers
The American Rescue Plan temporarily increases the availability and generosity of federal premium as...
ACA “Family Glitch” Increases Health Care Costs for Millions of Low- and Middle-Income Families
The family glitch bars millions of people from accessing reduced premiums and cost-sharing through t...
2020 – It’s a Wrap. CHIR Takes Stock of a Tumultuous, but Busy Year
We at Georgetown CHIR look back at this tumultuous, tragic, and eventful year and are thankful we ha...
Trump Administration Promotes Coverage That Fails to Adequately Cover Women’s Key Health Care Needs
The ACA expanded women’s access to comprehensive coverage. The Trump administration is seeking t...
States Work to Make Individual Market Health Coverage More Affordable, But Long-Term Solutions Call for Federal Leadership
The individual health insurance markets of most states are stable but face ongoing challenges. In a ...
States Are Taking New Steps to Protect Consumers from Balance Billing, But Federal Action Is Necessary to Fill Gaps
This year has seen a flurry of state-level action to protect patients from surprise balance billing....
2019 Insurer Participation: A “Quieter” Year As Companies Maintain, Expand Their Presence
Since implementation of the Affordable Care Act, insurer participation in the ACA marketplaces has f...
Can States Fill the Gap if the Courts Overturn Preexisting-Condition Protections?
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear arguments in litigation over the future of the ...
Court Strikes Down a Trump Administration Rule Designed to Circumvent the Affordable Care Act
On March 28, a federal district court struck down the core of the Trump administration’s new regul...
The Administration Tried to Make It Easier for States to Waive ACA Rules: Will Any Take the Plunge?
Recent federal guidance made significant changes to the ACA’s section 1332 waiver program in order...
December Research Round Up: What We’re Reading
Many people make New Year’s resolutions, with popular ones being to get healthy and save money. In...
Direct Primary Care Arrangements Raise Questions for State Insurance Regulators
Over the past year, new health coverage products that are not subject to the consumer protections ...
To Understand How Consumers Are Faring in the Individual Health Insurance Markets, Watch the States
Through both inaction and design, federal policymakers have put the onus on states to ensure access ...
State Efforts to Pass Individual Mandate Requirements Aim to Stabilize Markets and Protect Consumers
A handful of states are moving forward with plans to implement state-level individual health insuran...
Proposed Federal Changes to Short-Term Health Coverage Leave Regulation to States
The Trump administration is expected to reverse federal limitations on short-term insurance, which ...
State-Based Marketplaces Push Ahead, Despite Federal Resistance
Open enrollment for 2018 started last week on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketpla...
States Step Up to Protect Consumers in Wake of Cuts to ACA Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments
In the wake of President Trump's decision to cut off payments for a key ACA subsidy for low-income e...
New Executive Order: Expanding Access to Short-Term Health Plans Is Bad for Consumers and the Individual Market
President Trump signed a “very major” executive order related to health care that is “going ...
New Georgetown Issue Brief: 50-state Survey of State Action to Protect Consumers from Surprise Medical Bills
Balance billing occurs when a consumer who is treated by an out-of-network provider is subsequently ...
Running Down the Clock: Policy Uncertainty over Affordable Care Act Means Less Time for Oversight of Premium Hikes
Insurers are required to submit their health plans and premium rates for regulatory review in the fa...
2017 Federal and State Marketplace Trends Show Value of Outreach
The fourth open enrollment period ended in early 2017, with dwindling momentum behind enrollment eff...
Who Would Gain Under the Proposal to Expand Health Savings Accounts?
Health savings accounts play a key role in most Republican plans to repeal and replace the Affordabl...
Loss of Cost-Sharing Reductions in the ACA Marketplace: Impact on Consumers and Insurer Participation
In an updated article published on The Commonwealth Fund's To the Point site, CHIR experts JoAnn Vol...
House Proposal to Promote Association Health Plans Poses Risks for Insurance Markets, Consumers
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to promote federally certified association health pl...
State Experiences Show Why Repealing the ACA’s Premium Subsidies and Individual Mandate Would Cripple Individual Health Insurance Markets
What will happen if the Affordable Care Act is repealed without a replacement? In their latest artic...
States That Leaned In on the Affordable Care Act Have Much to Lose
In the wake of the Affordable Care Act's passage, 17 states embraced the chance to set up and manage...
A “Volatile Marketplace”: Second Quarter Earnings Calls Offer Glimpse of How Insurers Are Faring on ACA Marketplaces—and What 2017 Might Bring
In a turbulent year for the Affordable Care Act, health insurers' second-quarter earnings calls and ...
State-Run SHOPs: An Update Three Years Post ACA Implementation
Small-business owners face unique challenges covering their employees; to lower barriers and increas...
New Health Affairs Policy Brief Examines the Regulation of Health Plan Provider Networks
Limited networks have become increasingly common on ACA marketplaces, comprising almost half of all ...
Improving Marketplace Coverage for Children
What does coverage look like for children on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces? ...
Beyond UnitedHealthcare: How Are Other Publicly Traded Insurers Faring on the Marketplaces?
Two-and-one-half years in, how do we assess the success and stability of the Affordable Care Act's h...
Commonwealth Fund Tool Demonstrates Effects of State Efforts to Expand Coverage and Improve Enrollment
The Commonwealth Fund has updated its interactive 50-state assessment of health system performance. ...
2016 Insurer Participation Remains Stable in State-Based Marketplaces
In the wake of the high-profile closures and departures of some health plans from the individual mar...
State Efforts to Reduce Consumers’ Cost-Sharing for Prescription Drugs
High drug prices have been in the news lately, and consumers are bearing an ever-greater burden of t...
States Revisit Essential Health Benefit Requirements, but Have Little Data on Consumers’ Experiences
Federal Affordable Care Act rules require the states to revisit the standard scope of benefits for i...
The Experiences of State-Run Insurance Marketplaces That Use HealthCare.gov
Whether their exchange is state-based or federally facilitated, many state policymakers are seeking ...
Why ACA Marketplaces Should Report Comprehensive Enrollment Data
The Affordable Care Act's new health insurance marketplaces could be critical sources of data about ...
Proposed Premium Rate Increases for 2016: The Jury Is Still Out
There's been some hand-wringing over large proposed premium increases for health plans in 2016. But ...
Not One, Not Two but Three New Resources from CHIR: Small Business Health Plans in a Post-ACA World
There's been some renewed attention to the status and future of the small business health insurance ...
State Decisions on Allowing Mid-Sized Employers to Delay a Move to the Small-Group Insurance Market
Beginning in 2016, the Affordable Care Act requires states to change the definition of "small employ...
New Proposed Rules for Network Adequacy for Medicaid Managed Care Plans – Lessons Learned from Medicare & the Marketplaces
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released draft regulations governing M...
State-Based Marketplaces Look for Financing Stability in Shifting Landscape
State-based marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act are contemplating their financial sus...
Implementing the Affordable Care Act: State Regulation of Marketplace Plan Provider Networks
Narrow network plans were common on the health insurance marketplaces in 2014. In a new issue brief ...
The Affordable Care Act CO-OP Program: Facing Both Barriers and Opportunities for More Competitive Health Insurance Markets
The recent financial troubles of some CO-OP plans created under the Affordable Care Act have sparked...
After a Slow Start, Federal Small Business Health Insurance Marketplace Offers New and Improved Functions
With intense focus on enrollment in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, enrollment through the Sma...
Insurance Premium Surcharges for Smokers May Jeopardize Access to Coverage
While the ACA limits the power of insurance companies to charge higher prices to consumers based on ...
State-Based Marketplaces Offer More Health Plan Choices for 2015 Coverage
One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act is to make health insurance more affordable and accessib...
Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Revisiting the ACA’s Essential Health Benefits Requirements
Within the next several months, federal officials must decide whether to maintain or modify their "t...
The Next Frontier: Insurance Marketplaces That Promote Quality Improvement
While most state-based marketplaces in 2014 are rightly focused on the operational challenges of con...
After Halbig: Considerations for States Revisiting the Option to Establish a State-Based Marketplace
A federal appeals court's ruling that premium subsidies aren't available for consumers who purchase ...
New Report Reviews State Action on Quality Improvement in State-Based Marketplaces
The Affordable Care Act envisions that the new health insurance marketplaces will encourage plans to...
New Report Finds that, Under the ACA, Consumers Nationwide Are Experiencing Improved Protections in the Individual Insurance Market
The ACA includes numerous consumer protections designed to remedy shortcomings in the availability, ...
State Restrictions on Health Reform Assisters May Violate Federal Law
Regulations issued last month by the Department of Health and Human Services show that laws in more ...
The Extended “Fix” for Canceled Health Insurance Policies: Latest State Action
In March, the Obama administration extended for two additional years a policy allowing states to per...
Federal Court Ruling Casts Doubt on State Power to Restrict Health Reform Navigators
In January, a federal court in Missouri became the first to rule on whether states have the legal au...
New Report Finds that Most States Have Taken Some Action To Prepare For Major Components of the ACA
States have taken substantially varying actions to implement and enforce the Affordable Care Act’s...
Helping People Select Insurance Coverage: A Tale of Two Programs
Shopping for and selecting a new health coverage plan can be challenging for many consumers. One gov...
The Affordable Care Act’s Disclosure Rules: Can They Improve Coverage, Raise Care Quality, and Cut Costs?
The Affordable Care Act is designed to expand access to affordable and adequate health insurance, im...
Update: State Decisions on the Policy Cancellation Fix
Implementation of the President’s proposed fix for health insurance policy cancellations rests wit...
Helping Consumers Understand their Coverage Options, from Coast to Coast
A massive consumer outreach and education effort is underway to help consumers understand their new ...
The Affordable Care Act’s Early Renewal Loophole: What’s at Stake and What States Are Doing to Close It
The Affordable Care Act includes sweeping insurance reforms to improve the affordability and adequac...
Evolving Dynamics of Health Insurance Exchange Implementation
Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the roles of states and the federal government in es...
A Surprising Source of an Intra-Party Fight: The PCIPs
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to debate the first major proposal in three years to ...
New Guidance: Federal Regulators Allow “Collaborative Arrangements” for Enforcement
On March 15, 2013, federal regulators released guidance on how the Affordable Care Act's new market ...
Essential Health Benefits in the States: Selections Have Been Made but Questions Remain
In our most recent issue brief for the Commonwealth Fund, Sabrina Corlette and CHIR colleagues exami...
New Developments in the Stop-Loss Debate
The debate over the sale of stop-loss insurance to small employers is a hot topic among health polic...
State of the States: Choosing an Essential Health Benefits Benchmark Plan
To help make coverage more comprehensive, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurers to cover a...
The Medical Loss Ratio Rule – Report Highlights Savings for Consumers
A recent study documents major savings for consumers, thanks to the ACA's medical loss ratio ru...