The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Questions About Essential Health Benefits
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently issued its long-awaited report on defining the essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As expected, the committee preparing the IOM report did not recommend which specific services should be covered, but rather discussed what the process should be for defining the essential benefits,…
Policy Insights Read PostPulling it Together: Business and Health Care Costs
Hidden away on page 218 of our annual Employer Health Benefits Survey is a table that shows what employers think of the main strategies they have to control health care costs. More specifically, the table shows what the person in the firm responsible for its health benefits thinks, which is…
Policy Insights Read PostPulling It Together: Rising Health Costs Are Not Just a Federal Budget Problem
Premiums for employer-provided health insurance, where 150 million Americans get their coverage, jumped 9% in 2011 while workers’ wages grew just 2%, according to our annual employer survey. The average family policy now costs more than $15,000 per year, more than the cost of a Chevy Aveo or a Ford…
Policy Insights Read PostSeptember Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Pre-Existing Conditions
With several elements of the ACA targeted toward individuals with pre-existing conditions, this month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll takes a closer look at this group. Fifty-two percent of Americans say that they or someone else in their household has what would be considered a “pre-existing condition,” and among this group, one…
Policy Insights Read PostGrandfathering Explained
The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives recently indicated that it will be seeking to repeal regulations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that govern the “grandfathered” status of health plans. As this aspect of the health reform law gets more scrutiny, it may be useful to review some of…
Policy Insights Read PostAugust Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: The Uninsured and the Health Reform Law
The August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that even though 32 million uninsured Americans will gain health insurance under the ACA, only about half of non-elderly Americans currently without coverage say they are familiar with the chief components in the law designed to achieve this goal. Fifty-two percent of the uninsured…
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