Protecting People with Pre-Existing Conditions
It is worth a refresher on how the ACA protects people with pre-existing conditions. It’s also worth asking whether and how an alternative would do the same.
View the Latest: Pre-existing Conditions
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How Many Adults Are at Risk of Serious Illness If Infected with Coronavirus? Updated Data
Issue BriefAbout four in ten adults (37.6%) ages 18 and older in the U.S. (92.6 million people) have a higher risk of developing serious illness if they become infected with the novel coronavirus, due to their older age (65 and older) or health condition. The share who have a higher risk varies across the country. An estimated 5.1 million of these adults are uninsured.
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Poll: As Midterms Approach, Health Care Remains Voters’ Top Issue, But President Trump and Other Factors Also Loom Large
News ReleaseMost Florida Voters Favor Expanding Medicaid in their State, As Do Voters across All Non-Expansion States In an expansive look at the role issues and politics may play in the 2018 midterm elections, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll continues to find health care as the top issue for voters, but large shares of voters also say candidate characteristics, President Trump, and party control over Congress will be major factors. In the last KFF tracking…
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High-Risk Pools For Uninsurable Individuals
Issue BriefFor more than 35 years, many states operated high-risk pool programs to offer non-group health coverage to uninsurable residents. The federal government also operated a temporary high-risk pool program established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to provide coverage to people with pre-existing conditions in advance of when broader insurance market changes took effect in 2014. This issue brief reviews the history of these programs to provide context for some of the potential benefits and…
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Repeal of Obamacare Could Cause the ‘Death Spiral’ Critics Warned About
PerspectiveOriginally published in The Los Angeles Times, this perspective examines the potential implications for the individual market if key parts of the Affordable Care Act were repealed without a replacement plan.
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Visualizing Health Policy: U.S. Public Opinion on Health Care Reform, 2017
News ReleaseThis slideshow supports a Visualizing Health Policy infographic with JAMA, spotlighting public opinion on health reform in the United States as of 2017, including priorities and views of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and its provisions.
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Almost One in Four Adult Workers is Vulnerable to Severe Illness from COVID-19
Issue BriefThis analysis finds nearly one in four workers are considered at high risk of serious illness if they get infected by the novel coronavirus, highlighting the challenges that businesses, public offices and other employers face as they reopen.
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L.A. Times Op-Ed: Would the GOP’s healthcare ideas work? It depends on your definition of ‘work.’
PerspectiveLarry Levitt’s August 2015 piece analyzes Affordable Care Act replacement plans proposed by 2016 Republican presidential candidates, and compares them to the health care law. The post is now available at the Los Angeles Times.
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New Rules for Section 1332 Waivers: Changes and Implications
Issue BriefOn October 22, 2018, the Trump administration released new guidance on Section 1332 waivers established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new guidance may encourage states to use 1332 waiver authority to make broader changes to insurance coverage for their residents, including to promote the sale of, and apply subsidies to, ACA non-compliant policies. On November 29, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a discussion paper outlining a set of…
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Medigap May Be Elusive for Medicare Beneficiaries with Pre-Existing Conditions
Issue BriefThis issue brief analyzes federal and state guaranteed issue rules and how they impact beneficiaries’ access to Medigap, including the implications for Medicare beneficiaries with pre-existing conditions and those under age 65 with long-term disabilities. This brief also explores a recently finalized rule: Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities regarding Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that may have implications for the Medigap market.