Health reform and health insurance churn

The Affordable Care Act provides a lifeline for individuals previously “too rich” for Medicaid, but who did not have access to employer-provided insurance.  First, making Medicaid eligibility rules more generous lead to more people just above the poverty line getting access to health insurance.  Second, the “Obamacare” health insurance exchanges offered community-rated, income-subsidized health insurance coverage for people…

Narrow Networks in your state

The Affordable Care Act aimed to increase patient access to care.  Although it has certainly improved the share of patients who are insured, it is not clear whether it has actually improved “access.”  Many health insurance exchange plans are able to offer low premiums by limiting the number or type of doctors you are able to…

ACA driving up health care spending?

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…