The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Pulling It Together: Writing Regulations
Not since Geraldo Rivera revealed the secret contents of Al Capone’s vault on national TV in the mid-80s, or more recently, sports fans awaited the LeBron James “decision” about where he would play next, have we so anxiously awaited anything as much as the draft health exchange regulations just published…
Policy Insights Read PostWhat is a Mini-Med Plan?
One of the early insurance market changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) phases out caps that some insurance plans impose on the annual dollar amount of benefits they will cover. Plans issued or renewed after September 23, 2010 cannot have annual limits of less than $750,000, and the threshold…
Policy Insights Read PostJune Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Americans Still Divided on Health Reform Law
In the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, the public remains divided in their overall assessments of the ACA, with 42 percent holding a favorable view of the law and 46 percent an unfavorable one. This month’s poll finds Americans are somewhat more likely to think their own families, seniors as…
Policy Insights Read PostPulling It Together: Changing the HIV Testing Message
In 2006 the CDC began recommending routine HIV testing in health care settings for everyone between the ages of 13 and 64. Annual testing is recommended for people at highest risk. Our 2011 survey of Americans and HIV released last week — our eighth comprehensive survey of its kind — …
Policy Insights Read PostAn Employer Health Benefits Balance Sheet
There seems to be growing interest in the question of how many employers will keep offering coverage to their full-time employees once the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is fully implemented in 2014, or instead will choose to stop offering coverage and pay a penalty. While there is some good analysis…
Policy Insights Read PostPulling It Together: Medicare, Medicaid, and The Multiplier Effect
We are witnessing a battle in Washington right now about the future of health care’s two big public programs, Medicare and Medicaid. It’s a budget battle, it’s an ideological battle, it’s a partisan political battle, and while it might not always be obvious following the debate, it’s a high stakes…
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