Insurance Coverage
Results per page: 50 | 100
Results by year: 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
-
Statement: Robert Greenstein, Executive Director and James Horney, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy, on the Final Report from the Co-Chairs of the Deficit Commission
December 1, 2010
The new deficit reduction plan that the co-chairs of the President’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform — former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson — presented today to commission members contains a number of relatively modest … -
Employer-Based Health Coverage Declined Sharply Over Past Decade
December 1, 2010
In September, the Census Bureau released data showing that the number and percentage of Americans without health insurance rose at a record pace in 2009, continuing a decade-long increase. This trend reflects the decline in private health coverage, primarily in employer-sponsored coverage. Although the severe economic … -
Rivlin-Domenici Deficit Reduction Plan Is Superior to Bowles-Simpson in Most Areas
November 30, 2010
The Rivlin-Domenici deficit reduction plan, which a commission of the Bipartisan Policy Center unveiled last week, marks a significant improvement over a plan from the co-chairs of President Obama’s fiscal commission — with the exception of health care, in which the Rivlin-Domenici plan actually is more problematic. … -
Bowles-Simpson Plan Commendably Puts Everything on the Table But Has Major Deficiencies Because It Lacks an Appropriate Balance Between Program Cuts and Revenue Increases
November 16, 2010
I. Overview and Summary The November 10 plan from the co-chairs of President Obama’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform helps move the budget debate beyond misguided claims that policymakers can tame deficits simply or primarily by eliminating earmarks and “waste, fraud, and abuse.” It also wisely subjects all … -
Podcast: This Week’s Health Care Milestone
September 21, 2010
January Angeles, Policy Analyst, discusses an important milestone for the health reform law that will take place this week.
Duration: 2:56
-
Census Data Show Large Jump in Poverty and the Ranks of the Uninsured in 2009
September 17, 2010
Several points stand out from the data on income, poverty, and health insurance that the Census Bureau released on September 16: Poverty rose by a large amount in 2009, as 3.7 million more people fell into poverty. The number and percentage of Americans in poverty rose substantially, driven by deep job losses and record levels of … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein, Executive Director, on Census’ 2009 Poverty and Health Insurance Data
September 16, 2010
The Census Bureau data for 2009 reflect the severity of the recent recession, as poverty rose sharply and the number of uninsured spiked. The new figures somewhat overstate the rise in poverty, however, because they do not count the bulk of direct assistance that the 2009 Recovery Act provided to … -
Podcast: Understanding the Census Bureau’s Upcoming Report on Poverty
September 14, 2010
Arloc Sherman, Senior Researcher in the Center’s Welfare Reform and Income Support Division, discusses what to look for in the Census Bureau’s upcoming release of data on poverty in 2009.
Duration: 4:05
-
Johanns Amendment to Small Business Bill Would Raise Health Insurance Premiums, Increase the Ranks of the Uninsured, and Eliminate Preventive Health Funding
Updated September 13, 2010
The Senate will vote tomorrow, September 14, on an amendment from Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) to small business legislation that would repeal a provision of the health reform law designed to raise revenue by reducing noncompliance with the nation’s tax laws. [1] While critics have raised legitimate concerns about some of the paperwork … -
States Should Structure Insurance Exchanges to Minimize Adverse Selection
August 17, 2010
The health reform law (the Affordable Care Act) relies primarily on states to establish health insurance exchanges — marketplaces that provide affordable, good-quality coverage options to individuals and small businesses. But it gives states substantial flexibility in how they structure the exchanges. This paper recommends four steps … -
Health Reform Expands Medicaid Coverage For People with Disabilities
July 29, 2010
The new health reform law will cover over 30 million uninsured Americans, including 16 million low-income adults and children through Medicaid. A substantial number of the people who will gain Medicaid coverage under health reform have disabilities or chronic health care conditions. Medicaid is … -
“Grandfathering” Rules Strike a Balance for Consumers
July 29, 2010
The new health reform law includes a number of insurance reforms to aid consumers, several of which will take effect this fall. But plans that existed when the law was enacted on March 23, 2010 — known as “grandfathered” plans — aren’t required to comply with some of … -
Reducing Health Insurance Tax Credits Would Jeopardize Market Reforms and Cost Controls
July 27, 2010
To help reduce projected budget deficits, some have suggested paring back the tax credits that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 provides to help low- and moderate-income families afford health coverage through new state-based health insurance exchanges. Those deficit hawks recommending this course should set their sights … -
Podcast: Health Reform Law Improves Access to Preventive Care Services
July 27, 2010
Health Policy Analyst Sarah Lueck discusses the great news that millions of Americans will soon be able to receive preventive health care services free of charge.
Duration: 2:58
-
Podcast: New Health Insurance Option for Young Adults
June 29, 2010
Health Policy Analyst Sarah Lueck discusses a provision in the new health reform law that will start helping young adults this fall. Duration: 3:04
-
Young Adults Gain New Coverage Option
June 9, 2010
Under the health reform law, young adults up to their 26th birthday can obtain health coverage through their parents’ health insurance plans. This marks an important shift from the rules in effect now, under which young adults usually lose access to their parents’ coverage once they … -
Budgetary Concerns Should Not Be An Obstacle to Passing the New Jobs Bill
Revised May 20, 2010
Congress is about to take up a jobs bill that will provide a needed boost to the economic recovery and help people still struggling to find work in a difficult labor market. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin today released a summary of … -
Understanding the CMS Actuary’s Report on Health Reform
May 17, 2010
The analysis of the health reform legislation prepared by the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been widely misrepresented and misunderstood.[1] This brief paper describes some of that report’s key findings and clears up some of the most common misunderstandings. Does the actuary estimate that … -
Key Health Insurance Market Reforms Not Achievable Without an Individual Mandate
Updated May 4, 2010
Some opponents of health reform argue that the new law’s individual mandate — the requirement that individuals must have health coverage or face a penalty — should be repealed but the law’s most popular insurance market reforms kept in place. These reforms will bar insurers from denying coverage to … -
Failure to Renew Federal Benefits Changes the Map for State Unemployment Insurance Coverage
April 14, 2010
For updated data see: Policy Basics: How Many Weeks of Unemployment Compensation Are Available? Congress’s failure to extend the measures providing extra weeks of unemployment insurance (UI) and subsidized COBRA health insurance coverage for unemployed workers – which President Obama and Congress enacted in the 2009 American … -
Congress Should Act Quickly to Extend UI/COBRA Benefits Through the End of This Year
April 12, 2010
The long-term unemployment rate — the percentage of people in the work force who have been out of work for over half a year and are still looking for a job — reached an unprecedented 4.3 percent of the labor force in March (see the chart). Yet Congress has allowed the Recovery Act measures that provide additional weeks of … -
Efforts to Nullify Health Reform Likely to Fail, But Could Interfere With Law’s Implementation
April 7, 2010
The new health care reform law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA),[1] requires most people to have health coverage or face a penalty. This requirement, most often referred to as an individual mandate, is an essential component of the new law. Without it, reforming insurance markets to require … -
Holding the Line on Medicaid and CHIP
March 26, 2010
Issued Jointly With The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA; Public Law 111-148), signed into law on March 23, 2010, requires that states maintain their current eligibility standards for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirements apply to adults … -
Private Health Coverage Unstable for Middle Class
March 18, 2010
In about one-quarter of middle-income families with private health coverage, a family member lost coverage at some point between 2004 and 2007, analysis of Census Bureau survey data reveals. Nearly all of these family members ended up uninsured, often for several months. While the survey only extends through 2007, these problems have almost certainly worsened due to … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein, Executive Director, on the President's Health Reform Proposal
February 23, 2010
The President’s proposal represents the last hope, perhaps for years to come, to enact comprehensive reforms that extend coverage to over 30 million uninsured Americans, provide important consumer protections to tens of millions of insured Americans whose coverage may have critical gaps, … -
Coburn-Ryan Health Bill Would Jeopardize Coverage for Many, While Failing To Reduce the Number of Uninsured Significantly
Revised February 12, 2010
With President Obama’s call for greater inter-party cooperation on health reform, and his announcement that the White House will hold a health care “summit” on February 25, Republican alternatives to the House- and Senate-passed Democratic plans are now receiving more attention. One such alternative is the …
