Health Care Value

How Expanding Medicaid Saves Medicare Money

A recent report from the Government Accounting Office(GAO) points to one more reason why expanding health coverage under the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) makes good economic sense. Expanding Medi...

New Study Shows Increase in Hospital Use Following Medicaid Expansion Is Mostly Temporary

A new study released by the UCLA Center for Health Care Research pokes holes in an argument that opponents of Medicaid expansion often use to justify their opposition: that giving uninsured people M...

Health on the Hill: Good and Bad Proposals in Congress This Spring

The big news from Capitol Hill this spring comes courtesy of House Republicans, who are still mulling over plans to replace the Affordable Care Act. As we’ll explain, although no formal plan has bee...

Prescription Drug Price Gouging: Maryland’s Landmark Law Protects Consumers

There is no shortage of reports of prescription drug companies hiking the prices of life-saving medicines by 100, 1000, even 10,000 percent, sometimes overnight. Consumers have seen drastic price inc...

Closing the Medicare Part D Doughnut Hole: The End Is in Sight!

The meaning of the 2012 election results will probably be debated for months, if not years. But a few things are clear. Nearly everyone agrees that President Obama's reelection means that the Affordab...

The CREATES Act Helps Tackle Prescription Drug Costs

High and rising prescription drug prices force consumers to skip doses or even avoid filling their prescriptions for life-saving medications altogether. Now is the perfect time for Congress to finall...

Snapshot of Health Policy in 2018 State Legislative Sessions

Many state legislatures are passing the midpoint for 2018 sessions, and trends are emerging in their efforts to tackle health care affordability and coverage. States are also reacting to federal...

State Surprise Billing Laws in the 2019 Session

Surprise medical bills have been harming families for decades. They occur when families receive out-of-network care due to no fault of their own. Surprise medical bills can amount to hundreds, thousan...

Consumers First Policy Agenda

In May 2019, Consumers First released its Call to Action which identified six underlying distortions in the health care system that need immediate policy action. Those six focus areas are: Dist...

State Efforts to Rein in High Drug Prices in the 2019 Session

This summary outlines significant policies that advanced in 2019 addressing prescription drug prices in states all over the country. Advocates and lawmakers can gain a sense of what has been made pos...