The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic raises the stakes in the debate over surprise medical bills. Consumers’ fear of incurring medical bills could lead some to avoid testing or treatment. While new federal laws require insurers to waive cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing and the associated medical visit, that protection does not extend to treatment. Nor does it prevent balance […]
The cost of health care is a critical concern during the current pandemic. People who worry about out-of-pocket costs are more reluctant to seek care. For those with private health insurance, out-of-pocket costs may take the form of deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance. When receiving services from an out-of-network provider, patients may also face balance bills (amounts billed […]
This blog was originally posted on the Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms’ CHIRBlog. This March, we had to reconcile the anniversary of a landmark health law with the anxiety and grief caused by the growing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As we celebrate the 10th year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), we also look to researchers to help […]
This blog was originally posted on the Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms’ CHIRBlog. As COVID-19 cases climb, social distancing – the best tool we have to bring the virus to heel – has wrought an unprecedented loss of jobs, income, and health coverage. Over the coming months, the uninsured rate is expected to skyrocket. In the […]
[This blog was originally posted on the Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms’ CHIRBlog.] After a delayed response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has significantly picked up the pace. In the space of three weeks, Congress enacted three stimulus bills: An $8.3 billion emergency appropriations bill (March 6), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (March […]
[This post by our partners at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms focuses mainly on questions about Marketplace coverage. Medicaid and CHIP provide even more affordable health coverage options to those who qualify. You can can learn more about Medicaid and CHIP coverage here.) The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been the cause of […]
