Coverage

Improving the Accuracy of Health Insurance Plans’ Provider Directories

Provider directory inaccuracies have caused problems for consumers and other stakeholders for many years. Our issue brief (PDF) explains the steps policymakers and health plans can take to improve d...

How the Affordable Care Act Affects People Who Buy Health Insurance in the Individual Market

Public debate around the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has focused recently on recipients of private, individual (non-group) insurance whose health plans are being terminated and who fear they may need to...

Final 2019 Marketplace Rules from the Trump Administration Will Harm Consumers

In early April, the Trump administration issued its final rule to set standards for health insurance sold in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces in 2019. In keeping with the spirit of other rece...

What Advocates Should Know about 1332 State Innovation Waivers

Beginning in 2017, the Affordable Care Act permits states to apply for waivers to begin experimenting with strategies to provide residents with access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. Kno...

Consumer Protections for Web Brokers that Participate in the Health Insurance Marketplace

The issue of “direct enrollment” for marketplaces has become a hot topic in many states. “Direct enrollment” is when an insurer or broker facilitates a consumer’s enrollment in a marketplace...

The Trump Tax on Health Insurance: CBO Report Shows 31-54% Premium Spike

On May 23, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest analysis of health insurance coverage and costs. Much of the report’s media coverage has focused on the projected 15...

Short-Term Plans Do Not Cover Life-Saving Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment

Families USA, Mental Health America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the National Council for Behavioral Health are four nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations that represent health care co...

How Could a 1332 Waiver Affect Medicaid and CHIP?

States can receive approval from the federal government to begin state innovation projects in 2017 that would waive certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act pertaining to private insurance covera...

CMS Suspends Risk Adjustment Program, Endangering Health of Millions

On July 7, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a policy change that could fundamentally undermine the individual market, endangering health care for millions of people who g...

How Does the Affordable Care Act Affect People Who Buy Health Insurance in the Individual Market?

New data released yesterday by the Obama administration estimates the number of people whose health insurance was canceled and who have yet to sign up for new coverage in the marketplace to be less th...