Uniform Coverage Summaries for Consumers October 1, 2011 Issue Brief This brief explains the proposed federal rule that requires private health plans to provide a short, easy-to-read uniform summary of benefits and coverage to all health insurance applicants and enrollees. The rule, which implements a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is intended to make it simpler for consumers…
Federal Core Requirements And State Options In Medicaid: Current Policies And Key Issues April 1, 2011 Fact Sheet Medicaid is a jointly financed partnership between the federal government and states. The federal-state financing and administrative structure of Medicaid provides a framework of federal core requirements along with broad state options for program design and administration. This issue brief presents an overview of the current Medicaid program framework, with…
Boomers Come of Age: Covering Early Retirees and Other 50-64 Year-Olds January 24, 2011 Event The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contains provisions that can help workers age 50-64 if they lose their jobs and their employer-sponsored health benefits, such as incentives for employers to maintain retiree benefits. This briefing, cosponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and AARP, answered many questions about provisions…
Insurance Coverage of Contraceptives February 21, 2012 Perspective In this post, we answer some of the key questions about the new contraceptive coverage policy generally, and more specifically, how it will be applied to religious organizations.
Transparency and Complexity August 13, 2012 Perspective This fall a new rule takes effect requiring all private health plans to offer a uniform, simple to read, summary of benefits and coverage (SBC). The SBC will provide consumers with standardized information about how plans cover essential health benefits and what coverage limits and cost sharing applies. The SBC…
The Future of Medicare Advantage: Are We on the Right Path? June 10, 2013 Event This June 10 briefing looked at Medicare Advantage and changes affecting it, including revised calculations of payments from CMS, and the Affordable Care Act’s reduced payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Speakers discussed how Medicare Advantage plans are expected to respond to payment changes; if quality bonus payments created significant changes in patient care or plan choices; and what implications could these decisions have on beneficiaries with regard to premiums, benefits and more.
Explaining Health Reform: Benefits and Cost-Sharing for Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries August 9, 2010 Issue Brief This brief provides details of the benefit and cost-sharing rules that will govern the coverage available under health reform to these newly eligible adults Medicaid beneficiaries, and it identifies key considerations for state policymakers making Medicaid benefit design choices.
Medicare State Profiles April 19, 2022 Interactive These state profiles capture the variations across states in the number and characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries through the Medicare Savings Programs and Medicare’s Part D Low-Income Subsidy.
The Sleeper in Health Reform: Long-Term Care and the CLASS Act October 1, 2009 Event The Kaiser Family Foundation briefing examines a little-noticed but major provision in two leading health reform bills that would change the way that the U.S. pays for long-term care. The provision, known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, would establish a national voluntary insurance program that…