Report

How Enrollment Assisters and Health Insurers Can Partner to Better Serve Consumers

Health insurance companies can increase the capacity of enrollment assister programs by providing answers to consumer queries about marketplace plans. As our new issue brief and video explain, par...

How to Make Reference Pricing Work for Consumers

In today’s health care system, prices for medical care often vary greatly—even for the same service (e.g., a colonoscopy) from providers in the same network. And there is little to no correlation ...

Price Transparency in Health Care: An Introduction

Prices for the same health care service can vary dramatically depending on the provider. More expensive providers do not necessarily deliver higher-quality care. And it can be nearly impossible for co...

Eight Ways to Judge Republican ACA Replacement Plans

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made historic improvements to our nation’s health care system. The law has brought numerous benefits to families, state economies, and employers. The rate of people...

Rate Review: Holding Health Plans Accountable for Your Premium Dollars

When health insurance companies want to raise premiums, states use a process called "rate review" to decide whether proposed increases are justified. Many states have limited authority to prevent unre...

Medical Loss Ratios: Making Sure Premium Dollars Go to Health Care—Not Profits

A health insurance company’s “medical loss ratio” (MLR) is the share of premium dollars it spends on health care rather than administrative costs, marketing, and profits. We can protect consumer...

Health Insurance for People Involved in the Justice System: Outreach and Enrollment Strategies

As enrollment assisters seek new populations to enroll in health coverage, people involved in the criminal justice system offer great potential for successful outreach. Working with this population ca...

Charging Medicaid Premiums Hurts Patients and State Budgets

Impact of Section 115 Waiver Series: As part of their Medicaid expansion programs, states can ask the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain requirements. States can submit ...

Expanding Medicaid: Better Health, Jobs, and Economic Activity for States

Update: In July 2015, Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced plans to expand Medicaid, bringing the number of states not expanding to 20. 24 states have chosen not to accept federal funds that would...

Momentum on Medicaid Expansion

Expanding Medicaid does more than extend health coverage to uninsured residents—many of whom are working Over the past few months, we have been closely monitoring the movement to expand Medicaid.�...