Controlling Health Insurance Premiums: Perspectives from the States, the Federal Government and Industry September 19, 2011 Event The Affordable Care Act creates a process for states and the Department of Health and Human Services to review “unreasonable” premium increases and provide information to consumers about the process. The rules governing this rate review process went into effect September 1, 2011. This briefing by the Kaiser Family Foundation,…
Inside Deficit Reduction: What Now? December 5, 2011 Event The Budget Control Act of 2011 tasked members of a “Super Committee” to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. Members did not reach an agreement by the November 23 deadline and as a result automatic spending cuts to defense and entitlement programs are set…
Briefing, Survey Examine 2012 Data From 50-State Survey of Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment Policies December 31, 2011 Event Despite continued tight state budgets, a requirement in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that states maintain eligibility in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs was central in preserving coverage during 2011. In addition, more than half of states (29) made improvements in their programs, often using technology to increase program…
Quality Care for Less Money: Can Regional Successes Go National? February 15, 2012 Event On February 15, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted an event featuring a PBS documentary with former Washington Post correspondent T.R. Reid – U.S. Health Care: The Good News – which explores efforts to provide low-cost, quality health care in the U.S. The film looks at variations in health spending across…
The Health Reform Law’s Medicaid Expansion: A Guide to the Supreme Court Arguments March 29, 2012 Issue Brief One significant element of the pending U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the Affordable Care Act is the constitutionality of the law’s Medicaid expansion. This provision of the law requires states that choose to participate in the Medicaid program to cover nearly all adults under age 65 with household incomes at…
Medicaid and Community Health Centers: The Relationship Between Coverage for Adults and Primary Care Capacity in Medically Underserved Communities March 1, 2012 Issue Brief Community health centers play an important role in providing care to uninsured and low-income individuals living in medically underserved communities. They rely on many different revenue sources and, over time, Medicaid has become a central source of funding for most health centers. To better understand how Medicaid influences health center…
Pulling It Together: The Falloff in Utilization: “There’s Something Happening, Here, What It Is Ain’t Exactly Clear” April 10, 2012 Perspective For as long as I have been in the field, we have seen cycles in health care costs. Per capita health spending would rise, then moderate, then rise gain. My colleague Larry Levitt and I documented this in The Sad History of Health Care Costs and my friend Dr. Jim Mongan…
The Part D Experience: What are the Lessons for Broader Medicare Reform? May 30, 2012 Event Launched in 2006, Medicare added a prescription drug benefit that relies entirely on private plans, while, for other benefits, beneficiaries have a choice between private health plans and traditional fee-for-service Medicare. As policymakers consider changes to Medicare that would give an even greater role to private health plans in caring…
State Coverage of Preventive Services for Women under Medicaid: Findings from a State-Level Survey November 2, 2012 Issue Brief This brief reviews Medicaid’s role in covering preventive care for women, presents findings of importance to women from the survey, and discusses the implications for women on Medicaid following the implementation of health reform.
Health Insurance Exchanges: Can States and the Federal Government Meet the Deadline? July 27, 2012 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund sponsor a July 27 briefing to discuss how states are facing implementation and evaluation deadlines in regards to health insurance exchanges. Speakers will explore such questions as: What needs to happen between now and January 2014 for states to successfully implement…