Insights Column

How to Design Silver Plans with Lower Upfront Cost-Sharing in the Health Insurance Marketplace

As we discussed in our post last week, high deductibles in health insurance plans can create barriers to necessary care for low- and moderate-income consumers and are particularly concerning in silve...

Challenging Health Insurance Premium Rate Increases: Part 2 – First Steps after Proposed Premium Rates Come Out

This is the second blog in our series that shares tips and best practices from consumer advocates in several states about how to effectively participate in the health insurance rate review process. Th...

Challenging Health Insurance Premium Rate Increases: Part 3 – Analyzing Insurers’ Medical Cost Assumptions

This is the third blog in our series that shares tips and best practices from consumer advocates in several states about how to effectively participate in the health insurance rate review process. The...

Challenging Health Insurance Premium Rate Increases: Part 4 – How to Challenge the Amounts Health Insurers Keep for Administrative Expenses, Reserves, and Surpluses

This is the fourth blog in our series that shares tips and best practices from consumer advocates in several states about how to effectively participate in the health insurance rate review process. Th...

Trending: Predicting Health Insurance Premium Rates for 2015

Each month, we will report on selected health care stories and trends that are shaping the direction and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. “How much does it cost?” is the first questio...

Challenging Health Insurance Premium Rate Increases: Part 5 – Involving Consumers in the Rate Review Process

This is the fifth in our series of blogs that share tips and best practices from state consumer advocates about how to effectively participate in the health insurance rate review process. Previous blo...

Quality, Not Size: How to Ensure Health Insurance Marketplace Plans Have Adequate Provider Networks for Consumers

For many years prior to the Affordable Care Act, we’ve encountered stories from consumers who have trouble finding health care providers who are in their insurance company’s network or who can’t...

New Survey Finds That Most Consumers Oppose Penalties in Employee Health Insurance Wellness Programs

Earlier today, the Kaiser Family Foundation released findings from a new survey on consumer sentiment around the role of employee wellness programs. The poll found that, while 76 percent of the publ...

Minority Enrollment in Health Insurance Marketplaces During the First Open Enrollment Period

The success of the Affordable Care Act’s first enrollment period is clear: More than 8 million people have signed up for health insurance coverage through the health insurance marketplaces since las...

Five Trends in Health Insurer Premium Rate Filings for 2015: Twelve States

Open enrollment for the health insurance marketplace begins this November. As a result, health insurers are filing their proposed health insurance premium rates for 2015. To examine how rates may chan...