Which Path for Health-Care Politics in 2015? January 6, 2015 News Release In his first 2015 column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains why this year, status quo for the Affordable Care Act is not an option and how the Supreme Court rules in King v. Burwell will determine its path. All previous columns by Drew Altman are…
New Policy Insight Examines Medical Debt Among Insured Consumers January 8, 2015 News Release In this new policy insight, Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Fellow Karen Pollitz explores how high cost sharing in health insurance plans can contribute to an individual’s medical debt, and explains how greater transparency in plan details could help consumers avoid some financial pitfalls. Medical Debt Among Insured Consumers: The Role…
Visualizing Health Policy: Premium Changes in the Affordable Care Act’s Insurance Marketplaces 2014-2015 February 10, 2015 News Release This Visualizing Health Policy infographic illustrates the change in monthly premiums by county, and select cities, from 2014 to 2015 for a 40-year-old person covered by the second-lowest-cost silver “benchmark” plan in the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces. Premium changes were greatest in Summit County, Colo. (45% decrease) and southeastern Alaska…
High Health-Care Prices: More Talk Than Action January 12, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores how price is the major factor that distinguishes the cost of our health care system from those in other developed nations, yet most efforts in the U.S. to address health-care costs don’t focus on price much…
New Kaiser 50-State Survey Provides Data on States’ Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Eligibility Levels and Enrollment, Renewal and Cost-Sharing Policies as of January 2015 January 20, 2015 News Release A new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides a comprehensive look at where states stand with their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility levels and enrollment, renewal and cost-sharing policies as of January 2015, one year into implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s major coverage provisions. The…
New Kaiser Survey Finds Eleven Million Newly Insured Adults As of Mid-December, But Nearly Half Who Remained Uninsured One Year After Full Implementation of the Affordable Care Act Were Eligible for Medicaid or Marketplace Tax Credits January 29, 2015 News Release Many Of The Remaining Uninsured Say They Didn’t Seek Coverage or Considered It Too Expensive, While Others Were Told (Or Believed) They Were Not Eligible About 11 million adults had become newly insured under the Affordable Care Act by mid-December 2014, according to a new national survey of more than…
Medicare’s Role in Health-Care Payment Reform January 29, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores whether Secretary Burwell’s announcement this week about Medicare’s payment reform initiative is another sign that the public sector is becoming the engine driving payment and delivery reform. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
Medicare Spending Peaks at Age 96 February 10, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses the implications of a Kaiser finding: per capita Medicare spending peaks at age 96, and the main reason is not end-of-life care. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
The Health-Care Enrollment Story Is in the States February 19, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the variation among states beneath the national Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace enrollment numbers released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
Medicare Spending Cuts and Hospital Productivity Gains February 25, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman and guest co-author Dana Goldman examine hospital productivity gains, and what they may mean for hospitals’ ability to absorb spending reductions. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.