Health Legislation

commentary

Your Health Insurance May Not Be As Good As Your State Requires—and It's Perfectly Legal

Massachusetts has a law to ensure ease of access to birth control pills, saying there should be no copays and women can fill a 12-month prescription at once. Infertility care has similar protections. But many health plans don't have to comply with state laws because they are “self-insured.”

Shira H. Fischer @ShiraFischer

commentary

Can the Health Insurance System Handle Massive Medicaid Reductions?

For many who have or will soon lose Medicaid as monthly redeterminations restart, and for millions more who could lose insurance due to other factors like job loss, three recent policy developments might increase the chances that they find new health care coverage.

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner

commentary

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation: Key Decisions to Reach a 'Fair Price'

Government negotiation of Medicare drug prices—even for a small set of older, single-source drugs—is a remarkable policy development. But how exactly will the government do it?

Andrew W. Mulcahy @AndrewWMulcahy

q&a

Abortion After the Dobbs Decision: Q&A with RAND Researchers

The overturning of Roe v. Wade is likely to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including U.S. service women and pregnant women with substance use disorders. And abortion misinformation will likely increase. RAND researchers discuss these issues and potential policy responses.

commentary

Telemedicine Abortion? It's Not as Easy as It Sounds

The Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has providers and health advocates strategizing about how to provide more abortions where it is still legal. Expanding virtual medical visits is one popular idea. Policymakers and clinics could take steps to make telemedicine better understood, easier to use, and more equitable.

Zachary Predmore @zspredmore, Julia Rollison @Julia_Rollison

commentary

The Importance of Getting the Affordable Part of the Affordable Care Act Right

The ACA's expansion of Medicaid and the marketplaces that sell subsidized policies have helped decrease the uninsured rate. Research on being underinsured shows that affordability at the point of care is central to keeping people healthy. For example, a new study found a significant relationship between having health insurance and better asthma control.

Petra W. Rasmussen

commentary

Temporary Safety-Net Policies Prevented Mass Insurance Loss During the Pandemic

Although it provided a foundation, the ACA alone could not have absorbed the effects of the pandemic's sudden job losses on health care coverage. Temporary expansions to the safety net enacted by Congress also were necessary to stem coverage loss. As the pandemic continues, policymakers will want to keep safety-net provisions as available policy options.

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner, Jodi L. Liu @jodilliu

blog

Boosting Vaccine Acceptance, Afghanistan's Refugee Crisis, Environmental Racism: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on addressing vaccine hesitancy, preventing an even-bigger humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and how to develop antiracist environmental policies.

commentary

How Insurance Marketplace Regulators Can Help Consumers Enroll in Better Coverage

The Affordable Care Act simplified shopping for health care by creating the individual health insurance marketplaces where plans are categorized into labeled tiers. Consumers rely on these labels when comparing plans. But the labels don't tell consumers everything they need to know.

Petra W. Rasmussen, David M. Anderson

commentary

ACA Subsidies for Higher-Income Families Are Key to Enrolling More Americans

The House Ways and Means Committee has proposed several insurance reforms in its emergency COVID-19 relief package, including increasing subsidizes and extending subsidies to people with higher incomes. The proposed combined approach is a far more efficient means of covering uninsured Americans than enhancing subsidies only for those who are currently eligible.

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner

blog

'Internet of Bodies,' COVID-19 as a Preexisting Condition, Preventive Health Care: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the potential risks and benefits of the 'Internet of Bodies,' what might happen if the ACA is struck down and COVID-19 is considered a preexisting condition, a drop in the use of preventive care, and more.

commentary

COVID-19 Could Become a Widespread Preexisting Condition in a Post-ACA World

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is far from perfect, but its protections are particularly relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the ACA is struck down, then protections for preexisting conditions will go with it. Policymakers should consider the potential implications for millions of COVID-19 survivors.

Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice, Raffaele Vardavas

blog

Preparing for a COVID Surge, Reducing Police Violence, Media Literacy in Schools: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on helping hospitals prepare for a surge in COVID-19 infections, an approach to reducing police violence, teachers' concerns about students' media literacy, and more.

commentary

Once a COVID-19 Vaccine Is Ready, Getting People to Take It May Be a Bigger Challenge

With COVID-19 vaccine development well underway, implementation of a vaccination program warrants attention. Vaccine effectiveness demands a certain percentage uptake. But since health care delivery in the United States is fragmented, a coherent federal intervention may be necessary.

Alina I. Palimaru, Marcus Dillistone, et al.

commentary

Options for Designing a Public Option

State and federal policymakers are considering adding state-backed public options to the individual market in an effort to expand health coverage and improve affordability. We analyzed what would happen if public options became available in U.S. health insurance exchanges.

Michael Cohen, Al Bingham, et al.