Health Insurance Benefit Design

commentary

Ingredients for Health Care Reform

Despite their differences, the Affordable Care Act and the current proposals to replace it take a similar approach to providing health insurance. What might some alternatives look like? And how could they provide coverage to more Americans?

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner

q&a

How Would the House Health Care Plan Affect People with Pre-Existing Conditions?

The American Health Care Act would guarantee that individuals with pre-existing conditions could enroll in insurance even if they had a coverage lapse. But there is no guarantee that this coverage would be affordable, and coverage of some essential health benefits could be excluded.

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner

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The Ramifications of Repealing the Individual Mandate

As part of its goal of near-universal coverage, the Affordable Care Act requires most Americans to obtain insurance or pay a penalty. Repealing that requirement would significantly reduce health insurance enrollment and cause individual market premiums to rise.

Evan Saltzman, Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner

blog

In Brief: Amelia M. Haviland on Consumer-Directed Health Plans

Amelia Haviland presents the results of several new RAND studies on cost and quality in consumer-directed health plans, and explores how switching plans affects the quality of care.

Amelia Haviland

blog

Expanding Consumer-Directed Health Plans Could Help Cut Overall Health Care Spending

If consumer-directed health plans grow to account for half of all employer-sponsored insurance in the United States, health costs could drop by $57 billion annually—about 4 percent of all health care spending among the nonelderly.

commentary

Health Care: Myths, Realities

To clear up some of the confusion about the newly approved health care legislation, Elizabeth McGlynn debunks some common misconceptions about the bill.

Elizabeth A. McGlynn

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Obama's Health Plan: New Federal Role for Insurance Regulation

In general, health insurance premiums are set at a level that will cover the expected payouts for insured people plus profit. To provide a context for understanding price increases, this document identifies the factors that insurance companies consider when setting rates for the next year, writes Elizabeth McGlynn.

Elizabeth A. McGlynn