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In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the trends that may be leading to a rise in consumer cost issues on the health agenda. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
Second Analysis Finds Modest Shifts in Medicare Advantage Plan Options When Medicare's 2016 open enrollment begins Oct. 15, current enrollees in stand-alone Medicare Part D plans are projected to face an average 13 percent increase in premiums if they remain in their current plan for 2016, a new analysis finds. Medicare Part D: A First Look at Plan Offerings in 2016 finds that for the coming year, the average beneficiary will have a choice of…
This brief examines four options to promote the sale of health plan options in the individual or non-group market that are not subject to Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements for other major medical health plans. It reviews the trade-offs involved if such loosely regulated markets take root as an alternative to the ACA-regulated market, particularly as the repeal of the individual mandate penalty takes effect next year.
This brief examines recently-released annual financial data from 2017 and finds insurers selling individual market plans had their best financially since 2014, when new ACA insurance market rules took effect that guaranteed access to coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. At the same time, recent political and policy changes, including the repeal of the individual mandate penalty as part of tax reform legislation and proposed regulations to expand loosely-regulated short-term insurance plans, cloud plans’ outlook…
This brief about the 2018 Medicare Part D marketplace analyzes the latest data on Medicare drug coverage and trends over time, including both stand-alone prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage drug plans. The analysis focuses on enrollment, premiums, cost sharing, and the low-income subsidy.
Insurers in 2017 had their best financial year selling individual market health insurance since the Affordable Care Act began requiring guaranteed access to coverage for people with pre-existing conditions in 2014, though recent political and policy changes create new challenges for insurers trying to succeed in this market, new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds. This analysis finds insurers posted their strongest performance in the individual market using two different financial indicators: The average share of…
This tracker monitors preliminary 2019 premiums in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces as insurers file rate information with state regulators. It shows preliminary premium information in a major city in each available state for the lowest-cost bronze plan and “benchmark” silver plan, which is used to determine the size of the premium tax credits available to low- and moderate-income enrollees. The tracker also shows how those premiums are changing from 2018 and what a 40-year-old…
The Kaiser Family Foundation today launched a tracker to monitor preliminary 2019 premiums in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces as insurers file rate information with state regulators. Beginning with data from eight states (Maine, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington) plus the District of Columbia, the tracker shows preliminary premium information in nine major cities for the lowest-cost bronze plan and “benchmark” silver plan, which is used to determine the size of the…
Short-term health insurance plans are able to charge premiums 54 percent lower than ACA-compliant plans, by excluding pre-existing conditions and severely limiting benefits.
Short-term health insurance plans offer a trade-off for consumers: substantially lower premiums than plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act, but much less protection if they get sick and need care. Just how much cheaper are the premiums and what are consumers giving up to get them? A new KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) analysis finds short-term plans are able to charge premiums 54 percent lower than ACA-compliant plans, by excluding pre-existing conditions and severely…
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