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BTD Health Policy in 2026

Health Policy in 2026

President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman forecasts eight things to look for in health policy in 2026. “First and foremost,” he writes, “is the role health care affordability will play in the midterms.” And, he notes: “The average cost of a family policy for employers could approach $30,000 and cost sharing and deductibles will rise again after plateauing for several years.”

View all of Drew’s Beyond the Data Columns

New and Noteworthy

Policy Changes Bring Renewed Focus on High-Deductible Health Plans

Policy changes, anticipated increases in premium costs for enrollees, and new standards for health savings accounts may encourage consumers to seek out plans with lower premiums but higher deductibles. This issue brief explores the features of bronze and catastrophic plans, coverage and costs, and the complicated choices consumers face.

Explaining Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs)

Examining Short-Term Limited-Duration Health Plans

Health Savings Account Provisions in the 2025 Tax and Spending Law

Consumer Experiences with Health Insurance

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  • 2018 Renewal Notices – What Marketplace Consumers Need to Know

    Issue Brief

    As Open Enrollment for 2018 coverage gets underway, consumers who have health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace are again receiving renewal notices from their health insurers. Though the insurer renewal notices this year are based on the same model notice required in the past, this year for many consumers, it may be causing significant – and misleading – sticker shock. That is because renewal notices sent by insurers are required to inform consumers what their 2018 monthly premium will be, assuming they receive the same amount of advanced premium tax credit (APTC) next year that they did in 2017. Insurer renewal notices have been required to present information this way since 2014.

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – January 2018: The Public’s Priorities and Next Steps for the Affordable Care Act

    Feature

    With the 2018 midterm elections still about ten months away, the January Kaiser Health Tracking poll examines what issues voters most want 2018 midterm candidates to talk about during their upcoming campaigns. Health care is at the top of a group of issues but health care is less important to Republicans and among voters in battleground states. While Congress is currently debating a budget to keep the government funded beyond February 8, 2018, the poll also examines the public’s priorities for President Trump and Congress and measures support for reducing federal funding for government programs.

  • Health Care Ranks Among Voters’ Top Issues for the 2018 Midterm Elections, But It’s a Lower Priority Among Voters in Battleground States and Districts

    News Release

    Only One in Three Know the Tax Reform Law Repeals the ACA’s Unpopular Individual Mandate Health care and the economy and jobs top voters’ list as “the most important issue” for Congressional candidates to talk about ahead of November’s midterm elections, but the lineup shifts among voters in states and districts with competitive elections, the…

  • Individual Insurance Market Performance in 2017

    Issue Brief

    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 going forward.

  • 2019 Premium Changes on ACA Exchanges

    Issue Brief

    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 enrollee making $30,000 annually would pay before and after available tax credits.

  • Why Some Employers are Turning to Progressive Health Benefits

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman examines the status of progressive health benefits (health benefits linked to wage levels) and their pros and cons at a time when employee health costs are rising and wages are flat.

  • Short-Term Limited Duration Plans and HIV

    Issue Brief

    Given the Trump Administration’s promotion of short-term limited-duration (STLD) health insurance policies, this brief examines what they mean for people with HIV. The analysis assesses whether people with HIV could enroll in STLD plans by applying to 38 plans across five states and getting in each case. It also assesses whether such plans could meet basic HIV care and treatment needs for someone diagnosed once enrolled. This finding takes on new importance in light of the Administration’s decision not to defend the ACA and to argue for eliminating pre-existing condition protections.