Insights Column

The ACA’s Cost-Sharing Reductions: Protecting Consumers from High Out-of-Pocket Health Costs

The Trump administration announced it will stop making cost sharing reduction payments. Without these payments, a number of insurers have said they will have to leave marketplaces or raise their rat...

Transforming the Federal Individual Mandate into State Health Insurance Down Payments

The Republican tax plan that President Trump recently signed into law ended the federal government’s enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate. Starting in tax season in 20...

Idaho Weighs Move to Pre-Obamacare Health Insurance Protections

Idaho’s governor wants to roll back insurance coverage in the Gem State to the days when it was more expensive to get health care if you had a pre-existing condition. Governor Butch Otter and Lt....

Federal and State Action Can Prevent Millions of Laid-Off Workers From Becoming Uninsured

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped the country achieve remarkable strides reducing the number of uninsured from 48 million in 2010, when the law passed, to 28 million today. One important f...

10 Essential Health Benefits Insurance Plans Must Cover Under the Affordable Care Act

One popular aspect of the Affordable Care Act is its requirement that all individual and small group health plans (for people who don’t have traditional job-based coverage) cover important health be...

New Study Shows Why Maryland Families Need the Health Insurance Down Payment Plan

On February 26, 2018, the Urban Institute released a report showing the need for Maryland’s health insurance down payment plan, called the “Protect Maryland Health Care Act of 2018.” According ...

New Data Show Catastrophic Impact of Trump Administration Short-Term Plan Rule

Today the Urban Institute released national and state projections of the potential impact of a proposed rule from the Trump administration to expand the sale of short-term health plans. The project...

Repealing Essential Health Benefits Will Leave People with Preexisting Conditions Unprotected

Members of Congress and the Trump Administration have frequently proposed measures that would eliminate or undermine essential health benefits (EHBs). One of the most popular aspects of the Affordabl...

What CMS Action on Idaho Means for Comprehensive Health Coverage

Yesterday, the Trump administration told insurers and regulators in Idaho that they cannot sell health plans that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act. This is the first recognition from the adm...

Third-Party Payment Programs Help Consumers Afford Insurance

Third-party payment programs can improve affordability and increase enrollment for low-income consumers without triggering adverse selection. This week, the Commonwealth Fund published my research ...