How ACA Marketplace Premiums Measure Up to Expectations August 1, 2016 Perspective Premium increases in the health insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will likely be higher in 2017 than in recent years; however, the actual average benchmark premium in the ACA marketplaces in 2016 is below what the Congressional Budget Office projected for 2016 before the health law was passed. How actual marketplace premiums compare to what CBO expected in doing those budget projections is an important factor in determining whether the ACA continues to be on track to reducing the deficit.
JAMA Forum: The Partisan Divide on Health Care July 27, 2016 Perspective In this post for JAMA, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Larry Levitt outlines the health care platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties, noting their fundamentally different aims and differing ideas about, among other things, the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and Medicare.
Public Misperceptions About Obamacare Premium Increases July 15, 2016 Perspective In this Wall Street Journal Think Tank column, Drew Altman looks at the debate about increases in Obamacare premiums and public misperceptions about who is and is not affected by them.
In Wake of Dallas, Minnesota and Baton Rouge Shootings, an Opening for Local Leaders July 8, 2016 Perspective In this The Wall Street Journal Think Tank column, Drew Altman discusses how incidents in Dallas, Baton Rouge and Minnesota create opportunities for local leaders to take steps to reduce police-involved violence, citing data from the KFF-CNN survey of Americans on Race and KFF-New York Times Survey of Chicago Residents.
The Next Big Debate in Health Care June 30, 2016 Perspective In this Wall Street Journal Think Tank column, Drew Altman discusses why adequacy of health coverage will rise as an issue when the political world moves on from its focus on the Affordable Care Act.
Will House Republican Health Proposal and Trustees’ Report Make Medicare a Factor in Election? June 24, 2016 Perspective In this Wall Street Journal Think Tank column, Drew Altman discusses Medicare having a low profile this campaign season, and whether the House Republican health reform plan and Medicare trustees’ report this week will push it more into the spotlight as an issue.
Questions to Ask About the House Republican Health Reform Proposal June 20, 2016 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses the critical issues to look for and questions to ask about the U.S. House task force health reform outline due out this week.
The Fundamentally Different Goals of the Affordable Care Act and Republican Replacement Plans June 7, 2016 Perspective Drew Altman discusses Republican and Democratic health reform objectives, and why GOP proposals and the Affordable Care Act are better understood as policies with very different goals, trade-offs and consequences.
Why Today’s Poll Numbers on Health Proposals Are Bound to Change May 24, 2016 Perspective Drew Altman discusses how public opinion can change as health proposals move from the idea stage to real legislative debates in this Wall Street Journal Think Tank column.
Two Studies Draw Different Conclusions on State of Black America May 13, 2016 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses how studies with conflicting views of progress and problems for African Americans can both be true, and why African Americans may feel the problems more than the progress.