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Health Insurance Mandates

Commentary

Understanding the Impact of the Elimination of the Individual Mandate Penalty

Starting in 2019, the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate penalty will be eliminated, effectively ending the law's requirement that most people have health insurance. While declines in coverage and increases in premiums are likely, the magnitudes of these effects are highly uncertain.

Aug 10, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

What Is the Impact on Enrollment and Premiums If the Duration of Short-Term Health Insurance Plans Is Increased?

Extending the duration of short-term individual health plans will have little effect on premiums or enrollment in the individual market.

Jun 14, 2018
Commentary

Four Steps That Could Stabilize the Health Insurance Market

Congress will soon discuss options to stabilize the individual market and ensure that all Americans have access to affordable coverage. Policymakers could encourage enrollment, make targeted investments to lower premiums, fund cost-sharing reductions, and enforce the individual mandate.

Aug 25, 2017
Multimedia

Drama over Health Care Continues

In this Call with the Experts, RAND senior economist Christine Eibner discusses the Affordable Care Act, what policymakers should consider, and changes that the current administration could make.

Apr 11, 2017
Commentary

Repeal-and-Delay Would Make Budget Neutrality for ACA Replacement Difficult

As Congress considers repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, it will need to consider how federal budget scoring can affect the fate of legislation. Depending on the ultimate cost of a replacement, finding enough savings to offset costs while maintaining budget neutrality could make it hard to pass a replacement.

Jan 11, 2017
Commentary

Can a Continuous Coverage Requirement Produce a Healthy Insurance Market?

A continuous coverage requirement aims to discourage individuals from waiting until they become sick to buy insurance. This works well in theory. But there is little evidence on how it might work in practice.

Jan 4, 2017
Journal Article

Lactation Support Services and Breastfeeding Initiation: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act

The likelihood that mothers with private health insurance would start breastfeeding increased by 2.5 percentage points after the Affordable Care Act mandated the coverage of lactation support services.

Nov 28, 2016
Commentary

Modifying the ACA's Family Subsidy Rules to Help Ensure Affordability

The ACA encourages workers to retain employer coverage by restricting their eligibility for marketplace subsidies. Modifying the policy could help 700,000 people gain coverage and lower spending for 1.6 million who are insured but face high health care costs.

Jan 12, 2016
Report

Harnessing Private-Sector Innovation to Improve Health Insurance Exchanges

In this paper, analysts consider privately facilitated health insurance exchanges to address some challenges and deepen the impact of health care reform. In this model, the private sector assumes responsibility for peripheral exchange functions.

Nov 6, 2015
Report

Alternatives to the ACA's Affordability Firewall

This report examines policy impacts of the Affordable Care Act's "affordability firewall," which limits subsidies to individuals lacking access to alternative sources of coverage that are "affordable," and investigates two potential modifications.

Oct 5, 2015
Commentary

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.

Aug 13, 2015
Research Brief

Research Brief

How Does the ACA Individual Mandate Affect Enrollment and Premiums in the Individual Insurance Market?

Describes how removing the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate would affect health insurance premiums and the overall numbered of insured.

Jun 4, 2015
Journal Article

Journal Article

Mandated Coverage of Preventive Care and Reduction in Disparities: Evidence from Colorectal Cancer Screening

Universal insurance coverage may not substantially reduce disparities if systematic differences in plan benefits and cost sharing persist.

May 6, 2015
Blog

Five Years of the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act has officially been part of the U.S. health care landscape for five years. We reflect on the twists and turns that followed its passage and the RAND research that informed debates along the way, and look ahead to the future of the ACA.

Mar 23, 2015
Research Brief

How Does Enrollment of Young Invincibles Affect Premiums in the ACA Individual Market?

Using the COMPARE microsimulation model, researchers estimated the effects of reduced enrollment of young adults (invincibles) in the individual health insurance market. Results indicate that reduced enrollment of invincibles is associated with only modest premium increases.

Feb 5, 2015
Research Brief

What If King v. Burwell Had Turned Out Differently?

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Affordable Care Act's subsidies can continue in all states. According to RAND research cited in the court's majority opinion, a different outcome could've resulted in higher premiums and about 8 million uninsured Americans.

Jan 16, 2015
News Release

News Release

Eliminating Subsidies for People to Buy Health Coverage Would Increase Premiums and Number of Uninsured

Eliminating subsidies that help low- and moderate-income people purchase coverage through government-run health insurance marketplaces would sharply boost costs for consumers as much as 43 percent and cause more than 11 million Americans to lose their health insurance.

Oct 21, 2014
Research Brief

Young Adult Enrollment and the Affordable Care Act

Reduced young-adult enrollment in the individual health insurance market created under the Affordable Care Act would lead to modest premium increases; however, eliminating tax credits would substantially increase premiums and reduce enrollment.

Oct 21, 2014
Report

Eliminating Subsidies for People to Buy Health Coverage Would Increase Premiums and Number of Uninsured

Eliminating subsidies that help low- and moderate-income people purchase coverage through government-run health insurance marketplaces would boost costs for consumers as much as 43 percent and cause more than 11 million Americans to lose their health insurance.

Oct 21, 2014
Report

Barriers to Enrollment in Health Coverage in Colorado

Explores why eligible individuals are not enrolled in health insurance coverage in Colorado and makes recommendations on how Colorado can strengthen its future outreach and enrollment efforts.

Oct 6, 2014

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