NAIC Tackles Consumers’ ACA Questions: Subgroup Prepares Educational...
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is developing a set of materials to help educate consumers about their new rights under the Affordable Care Act. Sabrina Corlette is a member of the...
View ArticleBeware the Latest Loophole
As significant an impact as the Affordable Care Act will have on the U.S. health insurance market, there remain a number of ways health insurance carriers and other stakeholders may avoid or delay the...
View ArticlePaying for Value, By the Numbers
Everyone likes to talk about paying for value, but how is it being implemented in the real world? Sarah Dash highlights two new studies that shed some light on key benchmarks to watch as health care...
View ArticleDiving Deep on Two New Rate Studies
With the Affordable Care Act’s most significant reforms going into effect in 2014, attention has increasingly turned to the price tag for consumers. Following last week’s release of not one but two...
View ArticleVermont’s Rate Fillings: What Do They Mean for Consumers?
On Monday, Vermont became the first state to release preliminary rate filings for plans to be sold in their health insurance exchange in 2014. Christine Monahan crunches the numbers to see what they...
View ArticleNew Guidance: Federal Regulators Allow “Collaborative Arrangements” for...
On March 15, 2013, federal regulators released guidance on how the Affordable Care Act's new market reforms will be enforced. In a post that originally appeared on The Commonwealth Fund Blog, Katie...
View ArticleEmerging Policies on Dental Coverage for Kids
With the final rules on essential health benefits and market reforms now released, stakeholders have turned to how coverage will work for consumers. Our colleagues at the Center for Children and...
View ArticleConsumer Assistance and Health Reform: Bridging the Gap
With open enrollment for the new health insurance marketplaces just around the corner, attention is turning to the critical need for assistance to help consumers understand their new health insurance...
View ArticlePotential Costs and Challenges in Boston
With much of the country still reeling from the Boston marathon bombings, many of the victims, as well as their families and friends, have already begun the long road to recovery. With estimates that...
View ArticleIn the Midst of “Rate Shock” Fears, Insurers Are Requesting Lower Rates in...
An interesting thing happened in Oregon last week after the Division of Insurance publicly posted insurers' proposed premium rates for 2014. After seeing their competitors' prices, two insurers asked...
View ArticleReflections on Repeal Redux
Last week marked the thirty-seventh time that the House has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Sally McCarty reflects on how that news may have been received by the millions of people who are...
View ArticleChecking in on the NAIC: Work in Progress to Update Model State Laws to...
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) continues its work to support states' implementation of the ACA. One work group is taking on the daunting task of updating dozens of model...
View ArticleUsing Rate Review to Make Health Insurance More Affordable: Once Again, Rhode...
Rhode Island's insurance regulators are using their rate review authority in innovative ways to make premiums more affordable for consumers - and tackle some of the underlying drivers of health care...
View ArticleFinal Rule on Workplace Wellness Programs: A Look at the Implications for...
Employers are increasingly turning to workplace wellness programs with an eye toward improving employee health and lowering their health care costs. In this post, JoAnn Volk takes a look at the final...
View ArticleFlorida’s Changes to Rate Review: Heading Backward?
Of the many consumer protection tools available to health insurance regulators, one of the most powerful is the ability to review premium rates. Yet, some states have made recent decisions to abdicate...
View ArticleHealth Reform at Work: Lower Rates in New York State
Next year's premiums for individual market plans will be way down in New York thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Christine Monahan discusses how a competitive exchange and the individual mandate will...
View ArticleNew Report on State Approaches to Nondiscrimination under the Affordable Care...
Today, CHIR released a new report exploring how private insurers and state regulators are incorporating and enforcing new nondiscrimination standards under the Affordable Care Act. Katie Keith, one of...
View ArticleA Story of Promise and Peril: OIG’s Review of the new CO-OPs
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General recently examined the progress of the new Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs), created under the ACA. Their report...
View ArticleDelay of Certain Cost Sharing Limitations under the Affordable Care Act: What...
This week the New York Times reported on an Administration decision to allow employers and group health plans to delay until 2015 an Affordable Care Act requirement to provide enrollees with a cap on...
View ArticleUpdates on Consumer Assistance: Navigator Grants and Training
Last week was a busy week for those focused on robust consumer assistance in the new health insurance marketplaces. The Department of Health and Human Services announced new navigator grants and...
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