Medicare Reforms Linking Reimbursement Rates with Hospital Performance
Health reform not only changes the health care market for the demand side (e.g., patients, insurers), but also for the supply side (e.g., hospitals, physicians). In the Medicare setting, a number of...
View ArticleDoes expanding insurance coverage improve access to care?
Although Health Reform did little to reduce the cost of health care, it did make significant strides to expand access to care. For low-income individuals, the increased access comes along two...
View ArticleHow to drop the individual mandate and avoid the collapse of the private...
Today, the Supreme Court is deciding whether to let many of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ACA, a.k.a. Health Reform, a.k.a. Obamacare) stand. One of the key provisions is the...
View ArticleHEALTH REFORM UPHELD
Today the Supreme Court upheld the large majority of Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., Health Reform, ObamaCare, ACA) including the individual mandate. Why was the individual mandate allowed to remain in...
View ArticleAetna bets on Obamacare
Today, Aetna, the third-largest U.S. health plan, agreed to buy Coventry Health Care for $5.6 billion. Aetna paid a 20 percent premium for Coventry. Why is Coventry such an attractive target? The...
View ArticleStatus of Health Insurance Exchanges in Your State
Which states have implemented the Health Insurance Exchanges included in the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Health Reform, a.k.a. ObamaCare)? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 16 States have...
View ArticleRomney: ‘I’m not getting rid of all of healthcare reform’
Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates may be more similar than they at fist appear. Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney stated the following on Meet the Press: “I’m not getting rid of all...
View ArticleIs there a Conservative Case for Obamacare?
Yes and no: The conservative case for Obamacare. There is no conservative case for Obamacare. Other interesting reads for your Thursday morning. How Salma Hayek can help you pick the President. “The...
View ArticleHow much money is your employer contributing to your health insurance?
The answer is $0. “But Healthcare Economist,” you may say, “I know that my employer contributes $X to my health insurance so this must be false. Further, businesses always complain about the high cost...
View ArticleCalcuating Health Insurance Exchange Plan’s AV
One of the key components of Health Reform (a.k.a. Obamacare, a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act) is the creation of Health Insurance Exchanges. Not any plan can participate in the exchanges however....
View ArticleMedi-Cal expansion contentious in California
Health reform has expanded Medicaid access to millions of Americans. The question is, will the poor even want Medicaid insurance? As finances are tightening, many states are attempting to reduce the...
View ArticleThe Cause of the Slow Economic Recovery?
Could it be the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a Obamacare)? Some small businesses think so. The Washington Post speaks with a number of small business owners: These changes are less than a year away, and...
View ArticleWhy is Obamacare Unpopular?
Views on the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare, a.k.a. Health Reform) are mixed. Despite the fact that many people support individual provisions, overall, the measure is unpopular. Why would that...
View ArticleBest of Both Worlds
Leading health economists Jay Bhattacharya, Amitabh Chandra, Michael Chernew, Dana Goldman, Anupam Jena, Darius Lakdawalla, Anup Malani and Tomas Philipson claim the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a...
View ArticleHealth Insurance Exchanges: Day One
The start of health insurance exchanges, the most important provision of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) began allowing individuals to enroll today. The start was somewhat inauspicious....
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Will the ACA cause employers to drop health insurance coverage?
As describe in this recent Health Affairs article, as of 2011, your likelihood of being offered health insurance looked like this: Courtesy of Health Affairs. How will the ACA affect the share of...
View ArticleWhat’s up with the ACA’s Medical Loss Ratio rules?
One lesser known provision of the Affordable Care Act is that it regulates insurers medical loss ratios (MLRs). What are MLRs? Does this matter? A research paper by Karaca-Mandic, Abraham and Simon...
View ArticleObamacare vs. Affordable Care Act
It turns out that plenty of people hate Obamacare, but love the Affordable Care Act. However, they are the exact same thing. Obama’s branding the ACA as Obamacare may have hurt the appeal of the law....
View ArticleThe Hardship Provision
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains a provision, known as the individual mandate, which requires all individuals to have health insurance. Like most rules, however, there are loopholes. The most...
View ArticleCBO 2014 Budget Projections
California Healthline reports that At least one million fewer people than previously expected are projected to obtain health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges this year,...
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