Private Insurance

New & Noteworthy

Health Costs
Health Insurer Financial Performance in 2020
This analysis examines insurers’ financial data across markets through the end of 2020. It finds that average margins remained relatively high compared to recent years, suggesting many insurers remained profitable even as health spending rebounded and COVID-19 cases surged in the fall and winter.
Rebates
Data Note: 2021 Medical Loss Ratio Rebates
Private insurance companies are expecting to pay out $2.1 billion in rebates to consumers this fall, the second highest amount ever issued under the ACA. The rebates are roughly $400 million lower than last year’s record high of $2.5 billion, but more than 50 percent higher than the $1.4 billion insurers sent back to policy holders in 2019.
Health Costs
How Corporate Executives View Rising Health Care Cost and the Role of Government
This survey of executive decision-makers at over 300 large private employers finds most see rising health costs as a threat to their businesses and believe a broader government role will be necessary to control health costs and ensure coverage.
Consumer Protections
Surprise Medical Bills: New Protections for Consumers Take Effect in 2022
This summarizes key provisions of the No Surprises Act, enacted in December 2020 to address the problem of unexpected medical bills, and issues that could arise during implementation ahead of its Jan. 1, 2022 effective date.

the essentials

Health Costs
2020 Employer Health Benefits Survey
This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, offer rates, wellness programs, and employer practices.
Affordable Care ACt
Pre-Existing Condition Prevalence for Individuals and Families
This analysis estimates that almost 54 million people have pre-existing health conditions that would likely have made them uninsurable in the individual markets that existed in most states before the ACA.
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waivers
Tracking Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers
Through Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states may apply for waivers to alter key ACA requirements in the individual and small group insurance markets.