Health-Care Deductibles Climbing Out of Reach March 11, 2015 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores the trend of higher deductibles in health plans and discusses a new analysis showing that many people with private insurance don’t have sufficient financial resources to pay a mid- or high-range deductible.
Consumer Assets and Patient Cost Sharing March 11, 2015 Issue Brief Higher cost sharing in private insurance has been credited with helping to slow the growth of health care costs in recent years. For families with low incomes or moderate incomes, however, high deductibles, out-of-pocket limits and other cost sharing can be a potential barrier to care and may lead these families to significant financial difficulties. This issue brief uses information from the Federal Reserve Board’s 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances to look at how household resources match up against potential cost-sharing requirements for plans offered by employers or available in the individual market, including in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
The Diseases We Spend Our Health Dollars On March 3, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains how a recent Bureau of Economic Analysis report makes the nation’s health care spending more tangible by breaking it down by disease. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
The Diseases We Spend Our Health Dollars On March 3, 2015 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains how a recent Bureau of Economic Analysis report makes the nation’s health care spending more tangible by breaking it down by disease.
Medicare Spending Cuts and Hospital Productivity Gains February 25, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman and guest co-author Dana Goldman examine hospital productivity gains, and what they may mean for hospitals’ ability to absorb spending reductions. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
Medicare Spending Cuts and Hospital Productivity Gains February 25, 2015 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman and guest co-author Dana Goldman examine hospital productivity gains, and what they may mean for hospitals’ ability to absorb spending reductions.
Health Spending Is Rising More Sharply Again February 17, 2015 Perspective In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why high health care prices are a problem for consumers but not a cause of renewed growth in health spending.
Health Spending is Rising More Sharply Again February 17, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why high health care prices are a problem for consumers, but not a cause of renewed growth in health spending. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
Trends in Medicaid Spending Leading up to ACA Implementation February 12, 2015 Issue Brief This paper presents data on Medicaid spending during the years leading up to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It uses administrative data to first examine overall spending trends and trends by service type. We then draw on additional data to analyze per enrollee spending growth during this period, both by service type and by eligibility group, to understand what drove Medicaid spending.
New Reports Analyze Cost Sharing in 2015 ACA Marketplace Plans in 37 States February 11, 2015 News Release Charts Examine Savings from Subsidies at Stake in U.S. Supreme Court Case Cost-sharing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act can substantially reduce deductibles and other cost sharing for people with low incomes purchasing coverage in the federally-facilitated insurance marketplace serving 37 states, a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation…