Explaining Health Reform: Key Changes in the Medicare Advantage Program April 29, 2010 Issue Brief This brief examines the changes in the 2010 health reform law affecting the Medicare Advantage program, which gives beneficiaries the option of enrolling in private insurance plans for their Medicare benefits, instead of the traditional fee-for-service program. The reform law will gradually reduce Medicare payments to these plans to bring…
Health Care Reform and the CLASS Act April 28, 2010 Issue Brief This issue brief examines the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program, a component of the health reform law that establishes a national, voluntary insurance program for purchasing community living services and supports that is designed to expand options for people who become functionally disabled and require long-term help.…
The New Health Reform Law and Medicaid April 23, 2010 Event This briefing, cosponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation, explores the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA). A panel of experts explain how PPACA and HCERA affect Medicaid, and answer…
Explaining Health Care Reform: Questions About Medicaid’s Role April 22, 2010 Issue Brief Medicaid plays a major role in covering more of the uninsured under the new health reform law. The new law includes a significant expansion of Medicaid, an individual requirement to obtain health insurance, and subsidies to help low-income individuals buy coverage through newly established Health Benefit Exchanges. This brief explains…
Expanding Medicaid under Health Reform: A Look at Adults at or below 133% of Poverty April 22, 2010 Issue Brief This issue brief from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examines the key characteristics of the 17.1 million low-income uninsured adults who currently have incomes that would qualify them for Medicaid under the expansion of the program in health reform. The planned expansion of Medicaid to all individuals…
Americans Remain Divided on Health Reform But Are Confused About The Law And How And When It Will Affect Them April 22, 2010 News Release Many Provisions That Take Effect in 2010 Are Popular and Have Bipartisan Support Cable News Tops List of the Public’s “Most Important” Information Sources MENLO PARK, Calif. –The first Kaiser Health Tracking Poll fielded since the passage of health reform last month finds that 8 in 10 Americans know that…
What’s in There? An Ask-the-Experts Overview of the Health Reform Law April 16, 2010 Event The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are now law. But many people have questions about the new reforms. To answer questions about the major provisions of these two laws, the Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund sponsored…
The COBRA Subsidy and Health Insurance for the Unemployed April 16, 2010 Issue Brief With the nation’s unemployment rate rising to its highest levels in decades as a result of the recession, many families have lost their employer-sponsored health coverage or are at risk of doing so. In an effort to help people maintain coverage after a layoff, the stimulus legislation known as the…
Medicaid and CHIP Health Reform Implementation Timeline April 12, 2010 Issue Brief This timeline highlights the implementation dates for provisions in the new health reform law that are related to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. While major expansions of Medicaid are set to occur in 2014, many other key provisions in the health reform law become effective between 2010 and…
Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Provisions in the New Health Reform Law April 7, 2010 Issue Brief This brief compares the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program provisions in the new health reform law with pre-reform law governing those programs. The analysis focuses on Medicaid coverage and financing changes; how Medicaid and CHIP will interface with a new health insurance exchange and other Medicaid benefits and access…