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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). As expected, the committee preparing the IOM report did not recommend which specific services should be covered, but rather discussed what the process should be for defining the essential benefits,…
Perspective Read More The Budget Trigger and Health Reform
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…
Perspective Read More The Public, Health Care Reform, and Views on Repeal
With the U.S. House of Representatives scheduled to vote on repeal of the health reform law next week, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation data note revisits some recent public opinion findings on the topic. Kaiser’s December Health Tracking Poll found the public divided on the question of repeal: one in…
Perspective Read More What Do They Mean When They Talk About Pre-Existing Health Conditions?
One health care issue about which the presidential candidates acknowledge they have differences is how the health care system should treat people with pre-existing health conditions. People who have a health condition (such as an illness or pregnancy) or who are at higher than average risk of needing health care…
Perspective Read More KFF Data Note: Americans’ Views on the Personal Impact of the ACA and the Supreme Court’s Decision
As the Supreme Court hears cases challenging the constitutionality of parts of the Affordable Care Act, a relatively small share of the public thinks the Supreme Court’s decision will have a lot of impact on their family (28 percent). At the same time, the public is divided as to whether…
Perspective Read More KFF Data Note: A Snapshot of Public Opinion on the Individual Mandate
This week, the Supreme Court hears arguments on several challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the provision that requires individuals to purchase health insurance as of 2014, known as the individual mandate. For the two years since the law’s passage, and during the debate leading…
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KFF February Health Tracking Poll: Nearly Half Confused About Status of the Health Reform Law
The latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll finds that amid a public debate about contraceptive coverage in insurance plans, 63 percent of Americans support a new federal requirement that plans include no-cost birth control, while a third oppose it. Catholics split along similar lines, but there’s a big partisan divide, including among…
Perspective Read More Is a Death Spiral Inevitable If There is No Mandate?
If the Supreme Court acts within the next couple of weeks to overturn the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while leaving the rest of the law intact, expect to hear a lot about how the individual insurance market will be destined for a “death spiral.” When compared…
Perspective Read More State Exchange Profiles: New Jersey
Final update made on December 10, 2012 (no further updates will be made) Establishing the Exchange On December 7, 2012, Governor Chris Christie (R) vetoed A 3186/S 2135, which would have established a health insurance exchange within the Department of Banking and Insurance and announced that the state would default…
State Profile Read More State Exchange Profiles: North Carolina
Final update made on February 12, 2013 (no further updates will be made) Establishing the Exchange On November 15, 2012, Governor Beverly Perdue (D) declared the state’s intent to establish a state-federal partnership health insurance exchange.1 However, on February 12, 2013, newly-elected Governor Pat McCrory (R) issued a statement indicating that…
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