Private Insurance

New & Noteworthy

Insurer Filings Suggest COVID-19 Pandemic Will Not Drive Health Spending In 2022
This brief reviews initial 2022 premium rate filings for Marketplace-participating individual market insurers in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Most expect health utilization patterns to return to pre-pandemic levels and therefore not factoring in any impact on their 2022 premiums.
Ground Ambulance Rides and Potential for Surprise Billing
This analysis for the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker finds that half of emergency ground ambulance rides result in an out-of-network charge for people with private health insurance, potentially leaving patients at risk of getting a surprise bill.
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.
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.

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.