Questions About Essential Health Benefits
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently issued its long-awaited report on defining the essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently issued its long-awaited report on defining the essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
This brief explains the proposed federal rule that requires private health plans to provide a short, easy-to-read uniform summary of benefits and coverage to all health insurance applicants and enrollees.
Beginning in 2014, state-based health insurance exchanges will be created to facilitate coverage and choice, with the hope that enhanced competition among insurers will help to moderate premiums for individuals and small groups.
The Affordable Care Act creates a process for states and the Department of Health and Human Services to review “unreasonable” premium increases and provide information to consumers about the process. The rules governing this rate review process went into effect September 1, 2011.
After much heated debate on the U.S. debt limit, the Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed on August 2, 2011, containing more than $900 billion in federal spending reductions over 10 years. The law also established the 12-person “super committee” charged with finding more than $1 trillion in additional savings.
The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives recently indicated that it will be seeking to repeal regulations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that govern the “grandfathered” status of health plans.
A recent draft regulation issued by the Treasury Department describes who is eligible for premium tax credits to help them afford coverage offered through health insurance exchanges beginning in 2014.
No doubt it will take some time to sort out how elements of the debt deal (formally "The Budget Control Act of 2011") will all work. Delving into the details of how it affects subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to make insurance more affordable helps to illustrate how complex this business can be.
This analysis examines how premiums for individual health insurance differ around the nation, finding that premiums can vary substantially from state to state. The average per-person premium in 2010 ranged in cost from approximately $136 per month in Alabama to more than $400 per month in Vermont and Massachusetts.
There has been a substantial amount of focus on the recently released draft regulations governing state-based health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). And that's appropriate, since the exchanges have the important roles under reform of providing consumers with easier access to insurance and facilitating tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies that make coverage more affordable.
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