Survey of Health Insurance Marketplace Assister Programs July 15, 2014 Report This survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation of Navigators and other Marketplace consumer assistance programs under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) offers a nationwide analysis of the number and distribution of assisters and people they helped. The report examines the experience of programs in conducting outreach and enrollment assistance during the first open enrollment period. It also reviews the nature of help consumers needed applying for Medicaid or premium tax credits and understanding health insurance choices, and discusses key factors that impacted the effectiveness of Marketplace Assister Programs.
The Uninsured Population in Texas: Understanding Coverage Needs and the Potential Impact of the Affordable Care Act July 11, 2014 Report This report profiles the uninsured in Texas, their access to care and coverage, and how the ACA could impact them. It compares the circumstances that the uninsured in Texas encounter to those that the insured encounter. This report relies upon the Kaiser Survey of Low-Income Americans and the ACA.
JAMA Forum: How Well is the Affordable Care Act Working? July 9, 2014 Perspective Larry Levitt’s July 2014 post at the JAMA Forum assesses early indications of how well the Affordable Care Act is working.
The Impact of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): What Does the Research Tell Us? July 17, 2014 Issue Brief The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was established in 1997 to provide coverage for uninsured children who are low-income but above the threshold for Medicaid eligibility. In 2009, and again in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Congress extended federal funding for CHIP, but funding will expire a little over a year from now. Decisions about CHIP’s future funding will be consequential as more than 8 million low-income children were covered by CHIP at some point during 2012. To help inform the policy debate about CHIP, this brief reviews key data and evidence from the large body of research on the impact of children’s coverage.
How Obamacare’s Progress Makes Expanding Coverage Harder July 21, 2014 Perspective This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on July 21, 2014. The Affordable Care Act’s success meeting its initial enrollment goals and the repair of HealthCare.gov seem to have calmed the political waters for Obamacare. But the job of enrolling the uninsured gets harder, not easier, because the remaining uninsured…
The Stakes Beyond the Halbig Lawsuit July 25, 2014 Perspective In a column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses if the legal court cases about whether the government can provide tax credits to people in the Affordable Care Act’s federal health exchanges will be perceived by the American people as a legitimate legal question or as more inside-Washington politics.
Medicaid Health Homes: A Profile of Newer Programs August 6, 2014 Issue Brief Under the ACA, states have a new Medicaid option to establish “health homes” designed to improve care coordination and integration and reduce costs for beneficiaries with chronic conditions. Thus far, 15 states have implemented health home programs. Following on a 2012 brief profiling Medicaid health home programs in the first six states to adopt the option, this brief describes the health home programs in the nine states that have implemented them since that time, and highlights common themes across them as well as distinctions among them.
Where are California’s Uninsured Now? Wave 2 of the Kaiser Family Foundation California Longitudinal Panel Survey July 30, 2014 Report This second wave of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s California uninsured survey assesses the impact of the Affordable Care Act to date on state residents who were uninsured prior to open enrollment. The results capture the share of previously uninsured Californians who gained coverage or remained uninsured, how they feel about and interact with their new coverage options and what barriers to getting insurance remain. The report examines breakouts by race, coverage type, and other demographic factors.
Amid Tensions, Legal Immigrants Fear Signing Up for Obamacare July 30, 2014 Perspective In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new Kaiser Family Foundation survey findings about how fear of enforcement of immigration laws may be affecting Latino enrollment in the Affordable Care Act.
The Potential Side Effects of Halbig July 31, 2014 Perspective The Halbig case, if it prevails, would have far-reaching side effects on the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate and the functioning of the individual insurance market.