Small Area Variations and the ACA’s Coverage Expansions March 6, 2012 Perspective A new Kaiser analysis sheds light on how the country might react to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when it is implemented. It looks at how the benefits of the ACA’s coverage expansions will vary around the country by census areas (technically, Public Use Microdata Areas, or PUMAs). PUMAs are…
Summary of Coverage Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act July 17, 2012 Issue Brief This short summary describes the health coverage provisions contained in the final version of the Affordable Care Act signed into law in March 2010, including the individual mandate requirements, expansion of public programs, health insurance exchanges, changes to private insurance and employer requirements.
Pulling it Together: How the ACA Can Help The Homeless September 21, 2012 Perspective Estimates are that there are approximately 630,000 people who are homeless on any given night in the U.S. — about two-thirds in shelters and one-third on the street or without real shelter. Several million people are estimated to experience homelessness over the course of a year. About two-thirds are individuals and the…
The Cost and Coverage Implications of the ACA Medicaid Expansion: National and State-by-State Analysis November 1, 2012 Report A central goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to significantly reduce the number of uninsured by providing a continuum of affordable coverage options through Medicaid and new Health Insurance Exchanges. Following the June 2012 Supreme Court decision, states face a decision about whether to adopt…
Quick Take: An Update on the ACA & HIV: Medicaid Health Homes December 10, 2012 Fact Sheet We recently wrote about the different ways in which the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes pathways to health insurance coverage for people with HIV, and chronicled these specifics, as well as several outstanding questions, in a policy brief. As we noted, among the many provisions of the ACA designed to…
How the ACA Changes Pathways to Insurance Coverage for People with HIV September 18, 2012 Perspective There are multiple sources of insurance coverage and care for people with HIV in the United States. These include public programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, as well as private coverage through an employer or in the individual market. Medicaid, the nation’s principal safety-net…
The ACA and Fluoridation: The Power of Political Symbols March 14, 2012 Perspective In the 1950s, water fluoridation became a public health controversy that morphed into a symbolic issue of larger proportions. For its opponents, fluoridation came to symbolize big government and even for some, a communist threat. The controversy became so odd that it was parodied in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film “Dr.…
Health Coverage by Race and Ethnicity: The Potential Impact of the Affordable Care Act March 13, 2013 Issue Brief Executive Summary One of the key goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to reduce the number of uninsured through a Medicaid expansion and the creation of health insurance exchange marketplaces with advance premium tax credits to help moderate-income individuals pay for this coverage. Given that people of color…
Quick Take: Key Considerations in Evaluating the ACA Medicaid Expansion for States April 18, 2013 Fact Sheet A central goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to significantly reduce the number of uninsured by providing a continuum of affordable coverage options through Medicaid and new Health Insurance Exchanges. Following the June 2012 Supreme Court decision, states face a decision about whether to adopt…
California’s Health Care Environment and Health Reform Efforts: June 2013 Update June 25, 2013 Issue Brief This brief provides and update of the health care and health policy environment in California, discussing the budgetary environment, implementation of the state’s “Bridge to Reform” Medicaid waiver, and efforts to prepare for coverage expansions and new coverage options in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act.