Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
This is according to a Urban Institute study by Karpman, Long and Zuckerman (2016). They look at changes in the uninsurance rate and in the rate of full-year insurance coverage for nonelderly adults (ages 18 to 64) overall and by state Medicaid expansion status. They found that: The uninsurance rate for nonelderly adults fell from 17.6 percent in…
Many of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act include provisions requiring health insurers to do certain things. Variability of premiums are regulated, certain services are mandated (e.g., free annual check-up) and minimum benefits packages are set on the health insurance exchanges. One seemingly innocuous provision of the ACA is that children are allowed to remain…
In 2013, Medicare launched the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative. There were 4 models included in the program: Model 1 (least comprehensive): includes Part A services for the index hospitalization alone, and thus most closely resembles current fee-for-service payment. Model 2 (most comprehensive): encompasses Part A and Part B services for the index hospitalization, readmissions, and all other post…
That is the conclusion reached by John Holahan and Stacey McMorrow in a RWJ Issue Brief. They claim that “recent reports suggest such growth has returned to a more typical level of approximately 5.6 percent in 2014, considerably faster than increases in gross domestic product (GDP).” Positive excess cost growth–defined as the difference between the…
Is the Affordable Care Act making health insurance more affordable? Generally, the answer is yes. More individuals are insured due to Medicaid coverage expansions in some but not all states and the implementation of health insurance exchanges. However, there is one worrying trend in affordability: increasing patient cost sharing. A paper by Hempstead et al. (2015),…
One way for insurers to reduce health care costs is to restrict patient access to only lower cost providers. This phenomenon is known as narrow networks. On the one hand, narrow networks can promote efficiency by driving down provider price and directing patients to the highest value physicians. Alternatively, if insurers use narrow networks to direct patients…
The Affordable Care Act requires all individuals to be offered the same premium regardless of health status. Although there are some ratings bands based on age and smoking status, most people who purchase insurance on health insurance exchanges receive the same premium for any given insurance product from any given insurance company. The insurance products…
A recent RWJF Issue Brief notes that states that expanded Medicaid received more revenue from the federal government and had less state-level spending on programs that support the uninsured. In examining Medicaid expansion across eight states—Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia—it is clear that states are realizing savings and revenue…
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) contained the provision requiring States to significantly expand Medicaid eligibility. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that states had the option of implementing this provision. Thus, the change in Medicaid eligibility and subsequent enrollment varied significantly across states based largely on whether or not they were an expansion state. A recent…
Which states have decided to receive additional federal funds to expand the share of people they cover under Medicaid? The Kaiser Family Foundation has the answer. Alabama Not Moving Forward at this Time Alaska Not Moving Forward at this Time Arizona Implementing the Medicaid Expansion Arkansas Implementing the Medicaid Expansion California Implementing the Medicaid Expansion Colorado Implementing the Medicaid Expansion…