Private Insurance Coverage

We don’t often associate crowded emergency departments with dental complaints. But according to The Pew Center on the States, preventable dental conditions were the primary diagnosis in over 800,000 visits to ERs in the U.S. This makes sense, as more than 100 million Americans lack oral health coverage, and therefore have impaired access to dental […]

According to the health reform law, health insurance exchanges are to begin covering people in every state by January 2014. While some states have made progress toward establishing their own exchanges by this deadline, others have displayed little activity in this arena. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled on the constitutionality of the law, […]

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), insurance plans offered through state insurance exchanges – as well as non-grandfathered plans offered in the individual and small group markets – will be required to cover a set of health benefits and services called the “essential health benefits” package. Guidance issued last month by the […]

According to figures released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau, some 50 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2010. That number is almost a million higher than for 2009, though the percentage of people uninsured remained largely unchanged. Employer sponsored insurance continued to decline in 2010. At the same time,  one million young adults […]

When fully implemented, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will increase the number of insured Americans through two primary strategies – expanding Medicaid and providing insurance through state-based insurance exchanges. As an individual’s household income exceeds the maximum for Medicaid eligibility, he or she will be eligible for subsidies to buy coverage through an […]

Unemployment has hit everyone hard since the economic downturn began in 2007. And while workers age 50-64 tend to have lower rates of uninsurance than other age groups, they are especially hard hit by losing their jobs and with them their employer-sponsored health benefits. About 8.6 million adults ages 50 to 64 were uninsured in […]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA) made a series of changes that will significantly affect the way employers provide health coverage to their employees, and transform many of the choices and protections consumers have in the marketplace. This briefing, cosponsored by the […]

Young adults have some of the highest uninsurance rates in America. In 2008, three in 10 uninsured Americans– almost 14 million people – were between 19 and 29 years of age. As the health reform legislation was developed, it became evident that covering the uninsured in this age group would be a major component of […]

As part of an ongoing series to explore the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, this briefing dealt with how the new health reform law affects access to private coverage. A range of specific provisions were covered, including the new federal high-risk pools, tax credits […]

Health insurance exchanges can potentially serve a variety of policy ends, from promoting transparency and competition among health plans, to pooling or reallocating risk and administering subsidies for those unable to afford health insurance premiums. Exchanges can also play a role in health insurance oversight. Many of these functions are being carried out by the […]

The health reform proposals being considered in both houses may impose responsibilities on both individuals and employers to have, and help pay for, coverage. Subsidies for some small businesses and for individuals with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level have been proposed. But will individuals and businesses be able to pay […]

As Congress hashes out proposals to expand coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans, the latest count of the number of uninsured is a significant factor. Though some believe economic recovery is underway, Americans are still losing jobs by the hundreds of thousands each month. With the loss of jobs, so goes health insurance. […]