Medicaid Expansion States

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…

Who will pay the Cadillac tax?

Beginning in 2018, many individuals will face the “Cadillac” tax. What is the Cadillac tax? The Cadillac tax is a tax on high-cost health insurance plans. According to a Truven report, it is calculated as “40 percent of the excess of total per employee per year (PEPY) healthcare costs above statutory threshold limits of $10,200…

ACA, Uninsurance and American Cities

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the likelihood individuals have insurance by: (i) offering states money to expand Medicaid eligibility, and (ii) offering individuals subsidies to purchase insurance through newly created health insurance exchanges.  Did it work?  A Robert Wood Johnson report examines at the effect of the ACA on uninsurance rates in 14 large…

A new Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze

Currently, patients entering the health insurance exchanges can choose from platinum, gold, silver and bronze plans.  What is the difference between them?  As the names indicate, platinum has the highest premium and bronze the lowest.  However, bronze plans may be more expensive.  Why is this?  In essence, all the plans cover the same items.  The…

Hospitals moving to the ‘burbs

The ACA offers States the option to expand Medicaid eligibility to millions of Americans.  The goal of the expansion was to increase poor and middle class Americans’s access to affordable health care.  However, access to acute care may be getting more difficult for poor individuals. A recent article looking at Milwaukee’s hospital market describes how hospitals are…

Health Reform in Minnesota

Was health reform successful in Minnesota?  If the metric of interest is reducing the number of uninsured, the answer is certainly yes.  A State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) report finds: The number of uninsured in Minnesota fell from 445,000 (8.2 percent of the population) to about 264,500 (4.9 percent of the population). How…

Is Massachusetts getting a singler payer system?

Maybe, if Donald Berwick becomes governor.  Mr. Berwick is the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He ran CMS between 2010 and 2011, but left when Senate Republicans blocked his confirmation to lead the agency permanently.  Now, WonkBlog reports that Mr. Berwick is running for governor of Massachusetts.  His platform claims that the state–whose earlier…