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This policy watch provides an early look at how top private insurers are implementing a new requirement to cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests. Initially about half offer a direct coverage option and half require an enrollee to pay upfront and then seek reimbursement.
As COVID cases have surged across the United States due to the new Omicron variant, the Biden Administration has stepped up efforts to expand testing capacity including by making at-home COVID tests more available.
This analysis is an update to a previous analysis conducted in September 2021. Using county-level data, we analyzed trends in COVID-19 vaccination rates in counties that voted for President Trump in the 2020 election compared to counties that voted for President Biden. We find higher vaccination rates for counties that voted for Biden. However, rates among those fully vaccinated that have received a booster are similar between the two groups.
This policy watch discusses the implications of Medicare's preliminary National Coverage Determination for the new Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, on the 2022 Medicare Part B premium and the possibility of an adjustment based on the coverage decision. The piece also discusses the implications for Medicare spending and the connection to ongoing policy discussions around prescription drug proposals in the Build Back Better Act.
This policy watch highlights the different provisions and potential impact on parents and children in America. From expanding Medicaid postpartum coverage to establishing a national paid family leave policy, the BBBA could provide more support to states and community organizations working to improve maternal health.
The Build Back Better (BBB) Act proposes reducing disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments by 12.5% starting in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023 and places limits on Medicaid uncompensated care (UCC) pools for non-expansion states. This policy watch explains what these payments are, what changes have been tied to the ACA, and examines potential implications of changes included in the BBB.
Following the recent US Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation, children ages 5-11 are now eligible to receive Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine. There may be unique challenges to vaccinating young children, particularly those from low-income families who may face additional barriers to access. State Medicaid programs and Medicaid managed care plans are looking at a range of policy options to facilitate access to vaccines for young, low-income children.
As the ninth open enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplaces begins, enhanced Marketplace premium help along with increased funding for outreach and enrollment assistance mean there are more affordable coverage options for the millions of people who remain uninsured and more help available to connect those individuals to coverage.
Recent policy attention has focused on closing the coverage gap for roughly 2.2 million individuals living in the 12 states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These individuals do not qualify for Medicaid and have incomes below poverty, making them ineligible for premium subsidies in the ACA Marketplace.
Increasing availability of high-quality comprehensive data disaggregated by race/ethnicity is a prerequisite for efforts to advance health equity, not only related to COVID-19 but in health and health care more broadly.
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