Affordable Care Act

With a questionable outlook for 2020 passage of legislation on prescription drug pricing and surprise medical bills, Drew Altman says the real action to watch in health policy is likely to be in the states.

This issue brief presents ten, high-level key questions regarding current public option proposals supported by both Democratic presidential candidates and Members of Congress.

In this Axios column, Drew Altman takes a long-term view of the recently released federal data on health spending showing that spending for private insurance is rising much faster than for Medicare and Medicaid, and predicts rising pressure in the health care industry as a result. 

66% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents — a majority — favor both a public option and Medicare-for-all. Minorities of those who favor either Medicare-for-all or a public option exclusively favor one proposal over the other.

As the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period nears an end in most areas this week, a new KFF analysis finds that 4.7 million currently uninsured people could get a bronze-level plan for 2020 and pay nothing in premiums after factoring in tax credits, though the deductibles would be high.…

This analysis looks at how many of the remaining uninsured are eligible for premium subsidies that are large enough to cover the entire cost of a bronze plan, which is the minimum level of coverage available on the Marketplaces. It estimates 28% of uninsured individuals who could shop on the ACA Marketplace, or 4.7 million people nationwide, are eligible to purchase a bronze plan with $0 premiums after subsidies in 2020.

In an Axios column, Drew Altman previews new data highlighting that people with critical health issues are especially vulnerable to these bills. 

The Affordable Care Act provides protections and requires coverage of specific support services to people who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Despite these protections, only 27 percent of women have discussed IPV with their provider.

Two resources give an overview of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the U.S. and insurance coverage for screening and counseling.

Intimate partner violence has been shown to be associated with increased risk for HIV among women, as well as poorer treatment outcomes for those already diagnosed. This brief reviews the link between IPV and HIV, key policy changes and initiatives that attempt to address these challenges.