How Marketplace Costs and Premiums Will Change if American Rescue Plan Subsidies Expire September 24, 2021 News Release In a new Policy Watch, KFF analysts explore the potential impact of the expiration of the American Rescue Plan Act’s enhanced financial help and new eligibility for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance Marketplace federal subsidies. While the COVID-19 relief legislation passed earlier this year provides greater subsidy assistance through…
More Than 6 in 10 of the Remaining 27.4 Million Uninsured People in the U.S. are Eligible for Subsidized ACA Marketplace Coverage, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program November 19, 2021 News Release Recent policy attention has focused on efforts to reduce the number of uninsured people in the U.S. by expanding eligibility for coverage assistance, including enhanced premium subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace and filling the Medicaid “coverage gap.” A new KFF analysis shows that a majority of the…
County-Level Analysis Finds ACA Premiums are Falling in Many Areas of the Country, Though Changes Vary by County and Type of Plan December 7, 2021 News Release Premiums for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace benchmark silver plan are decreasing 3.1 percent on average across the country – the fourth year in a row that benchmark premiums have fallen – though the changes vary by county, a new KFF county-by-county analysis finds. The benchmark plan premiums are important…
Strategies To Lower Drug Costs Top the Public’s Health Priorities for Congress March 31, 2022 News Release Against the backdrop of public concern about inflation and rising gas prices, proposals to lower what people pay out-of-pocket for drugs tops the public’s list of health care priorities for Congress, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Most (55%) of the public say inflation is the biggest problem facing…
Private Insurers Expect to Pay $1 Billion in Rebates to Consumers This Year for Setting Premiums Too High Relative to Medical Costs June 1, 2022 News Release Private insurance companies are expecting to pay out $1 billion in rebates to consumers this fall under an Affordable Care Act provision that requires insurers to spend the bulk of customers’ premium payments on care, a new KFF analysis finds. Rebates are based on insurers’ experiences over the previous three…
Marketplace Insurers Denied Nearly 1 in 5 In-Network Claims in 2020, though It’s Often Not Clear Why July 5, 2022 News Release Healthcare.gov marketplace insurers denied nearly one out of every five claims (18%) submitted for in-network services in 2020, though why the denial rates are so high and the ultimate consequences for consumers are difficult to access from the publicly available data, a new KFF analysis finds. The Affordable Care Act…
The Implications of the Most Recent Challenge to the ACA’s Preventive Care Requirement Could Affect Millions October 26, 2022 News Release A new brief explains the implications of the most recent legal challenge contesting the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement that most private insurance plans cover specific preventive care items and services—such as contraceptive services and supplies, and cancer screenings—at no cost to patients. In Braidwood Management v. Becerra, two Christian-owned…
About 5 Million Uninsured People Could Get ACA Marketplace Coverage Without a Monthly Premium – But They Would Have to Enroll Soon January 10, 2023 News Release About 5 million uninsured people across the country could get coverage through an Affordable Care Act Marketplace health plan with virtually no monthly premium if they enroll soon, a new KFF analysis finds. In most states, open enrollment runs through January 15, with tax credits available to help eligible low-…
Recent Studies Show That Medicaid Expansion Has Improved the Financial Performance of Hospitals and Other Providers, In Line With Prior Research January 18, 2023 News Release A KFF synthesis of recent studies finds that Medicaid expansion has been beneficial to the finances of hospitals and providers, driving decreases in the share of uninsured patients, increases in Medicaid-covered patients and declines in uncompensated care. By financing coverage for low-income people who are likely to otherwise be uninsured,…
Medicare Advantage Insurers Report Much Higher Gross Margins Per Enrollee Than Insurers in Other Markets February 28, 2023 News Release A new analysis of health insurers’ 2021 financial data shows that insurers continue to report much higher gross margins per enrollee in the Medicare Advantage market than in other health insurance markets. The analysis examines insurers’ financial data in the Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, individual (non-group), and fully insured…