Affordability
Like most health policy folks, I have been watching developments in my home state of Arkansas with much interest. Recent media reports have discussed interest among state leaders to use Medicaid to purchase plans on the exchange, also known as the marketplace that will make private insurance available to many uninsured Arkansans starting next year […]
By Jocelyn Guyer After an intensive few weeks spent lugging around binders filled with the latest proposed rule on Medicaid and CHIP, we’ve finally done it! Here is our very best shot at a concise(ish) list of the top issues of concern for kids in the proposed rule. Comments are due this Thursday and, if […]
By Joe Touschner and Tara Mancini As highlighted in the Supreme Court case, we all know that the Affordable Care Act includes a tax on those who choose not to maintain health insurance coverage starting next year. New rules from the federal government spell out just who will face that tax—and more importantly, who won’t. […]
By Martha Heberlein The annual Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust survey of employer health benefits was released today and found that the average premium for family based coverage rose to $15,745, or just 4% compared to 2011 (premiums for individual plans rose 3%). Although moderate, this growth has far out-paced workers wages, which […]
By Joe Touschner Say Ahhh! readers have heard all about the family penalty—the proposed rule that spouses and children won’t be able to access premium tax credits if employer-sponsored single coverage is affordable for a worker—even if the cost of family coverage would be out of reach. (Note that some also refer to this problem […]
By Jocelyn Guyer Last week just as Representative Cantor was making his dramatic exit from deficit reduction talks with Vice President Biden, rumors started to emerge that the idea of adopting a “blended matching rate” for Medicaid and CHIP was gaining currency. The Obama Administration first put forth the idea in a deficit reduction proposal […]
