Affordability

Affordability

Bipartisan Senate Finance Committee Legislation Includes Enhanced Medicaid Pharmacy Pricing Survey Provision

On November 8, 2023, on an unanimous 26-0 vote, the Senate Finance Committee approved the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act.  The bill includes a number of Medicare and Medicaid provisions but also incorporates two sound Medicaid drug pricing provisions related to “spread pricing” in Medicaid managed care and to Medicaid pharmacy […]

Proposed Expansion of Self-funding for Small Employers Would Roll Back Affordable Care Act Protections, Pre-empt State Insurance Oversight

By Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center on Health Insurance Reforms The U.S. House of Representatives Education & Workforce Committee is poised to advance a bill, H.R. 2813, that would encourage the expansion of self-funded employer-based insurance exempt from key Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections and preempt states’ efforts to stabilize premiums for small […]

Research Update: New Urban Institute Report Highlights Pandemic-Related Barriers to Health Care Among Low-Income Parents

Parents’ lack of health insurance coverage and access to health services can reduce children’s access to care and harm their families’ broader financial health. This is why the Urban Institute’s new report on coverage, access, overall health, and ability to meet family financial needs among parents at different income levels after the first year of […]

Build Back Better Act: Health Coverage Provisions Explained

On November 19, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, the budget reconciliation bill, with the Senate expected to consider the legislation in coming weeks. The Build Back Better Act includes numerous provisions that would dramatically strengthen and expand both public and private health insurance coverage. Some of the new provisions […]

New Report Highlights Coverage and Affordability Improvements for Children and Families with Permanent Marketplace Subsidies

More than 2.5 million Americans enrolled in Marketplace coverage between February 15 and July 31, 2021 during the recent COVID-19 special enrollment period (which closed on August 15, 2021). About 35 percent of these individuals were able to get covered for under $10 per month, thanks in part to the American Rescue Plan Act’s enhanced […]