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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.
While economic challenges facing the country continue and the Supreme Court is deciding the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), May's Health Tracking Poll finds that the problems and concerns related to health care costs and access are wide-spread.
There are multiple sources of insurance coverage and care for people with HIV in the United States. These include public programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare, and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, as well as private coverage through an employer or in the individual market.
AIAN individuals experience significant health disparities compared to their White counterparts. People who identified as AIAN alone have shorter life expectancies (70.1 vs 78.4 years at birth), higher rates of chronic diseases, and higher rates of suicide deaths and substance use disorder.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced significant changes to the premiums charged in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), aka the "high risk pool" created by the Affordable Care Act.
Drew Altman, in The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, examines a study finding Massachusetts' health reform saved lives in the context of health insurance's twin goal: better access to improve health and economic security.
A comprehensive survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation provides a snapshot of women and their health coverage and care during a time of transition as important Affordable Care Act insurance market changes began to take root.
This brief analyzes state policies and insurer coverage decisions affecting the availability of abortion coverage in 2015 insurance plans offered through the Marketplaces. It finds that abortion coverage is unavailable in a total of 31 states, 24 of which have enacted laws that ban or restrict abortion coverage in plans sold through their Marketplaces and 7 of which have no abortion coverage restrictions but also have no Marketplace plans offering it.
Safety net providers such as community health centers and family planning clinics have served a significant role in the provision of primary care and reproductive health care services to low-income and uninsured people, particularly women. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has a provision aimed at assuring that newly-insured individuals, as well as those without coverage, can continue seeing their trusted safety net providers, also called Essential Community Providers (ECPs). This brief reviews the definition of ECPs, examines the federal and state rules that govern the extent to which plans must include these providers in their networks, identifies the variation from state to state, and discusses the particular importance of these rules and providers for women’s access to care.
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.
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