In my first post, I described the major features and basic approach of HR 3962, as well as the provisions of the bill that would go into effect more or less immediately.  This post will look more closely at some of the bill’s basic insurance reform elements.  In a final post, I will discuss the [...]

Both the new House health reform bill and the Senate Finance Committee bill, despite their best efforts, have to impose some taxes on some taxpayers; they cannot get all of a trillion dollars of subsidies for insurance out of Medicare.  But they differ on what and whom to tax: the House proposes to tax well-off [...]

On October 12 America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a commissioned report by Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC), “Potential Impact of Health Reform on the Cost of Private Health Insurance Coverage.”   The study reported that health care reform as envisioned by the Senate Finance Committee would raise the cost of private health insurance by 23 percent [...]

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) answered some important questions at his Capitol Hill news conference today: The health reform bill he will send to the Senate floor will include a public health insurance plan with a state opt-out provision, and as a result the much-courted Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — the lone Republican to vote in committee for [...]

Congress is debating provisions of health reform bills that would considerably revamp segments of the private health insurance market. Focused on health insurance for individuals and small businesses, the changes would end the commonplace practice in these parts of the insurance market of using health status to set premiums or deny coverage.
A new Health Policy [...]

Two papers, released today by Health Affairs, provide a “reality check” about some of those living with chronic conditions who lack health insurance.
• Uninsured Adults With Chronic Conditions Or Disabilities: Gaps In Public Insurance Programs
By Steven D. Pizer, Austin B. Frakt, and Lisa I. Iezzoni
Who are the uninsured? Where do they live? To answer those [...]

As Senate and House Committee versions of health reform move toward unified legislation and floor votes, the most complex political challenge is how to resolve the “public option” controversy.  While one would have thought weightier issues such as the shape of Medicare reform, the taxation required to support coverage subsidies, or the presence or absence [...]

The public option is “alive,” Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said in a media conference call sponsored by Families USA.
The Senate Finance health reform bill is the only one that does not include a publicly run health insurance plan among the options that would be offered to consumers purchasing coverage in a new health insurance exchange. Baucus and [...]

On Tuesday October 13, Darius Lakdawalla was awarded Research!America’s 2009 Garfield Economic Impact Award for his paper “U.S. Pharmaceutical Policy In A Global Marketplace,” published in Health Affairs, December 16, 2008. 
Lakdawalla is director of research, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, and associate professor, School of Policy, Planning and Development, at the University of Southern [...]

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 in favor of legislation overhauling the nation’s health care system. Much attention was focused on the “yes” vote supplied by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the one Republican who joined all 13 Committee Democrats in support of the bill. 
Garnering less attention was the yes vote cast by Ron Wyden (D-OR). Together [...]

Insurance exchanges, or “Gateways” as they are called in the Senate HELP bill, are a key element in all of the congressional health reform proposals, as well as the proposal outlined by President Obama in his speech to Congress. The exchange is not some new heavy-handed government regulatory body. Rather, the purpose of the exchange [...]

Editor’s Note: In addition to S. Ward Casscells, M.D. and Hiliary Critchley (photos and bios above), coauthors of this post include Thomas Amoroso, M.D., of the Quincy Medical Center; James Tyll of James Tyll Consulting, LLC; and John Zogby of Zogby International, Inc. The authors are also grateful for analytical advice contributed by Grace Ren [...]

As Congress and the Administration debate health care reform, it is instructive to look at the Massachusetts model, now in its third year. Health Affairs today released a study of workers in the Bay State who were interviewed in fall 2008 about their employer-sponsored health care coverage, following up on similar surveys in 2006 and [...]

Uwe Reinhardt’s assessment of President Obama’s address to Congress on health reform tops the list of most-read Health Affairs Blog posts for September.  Additional comment on all posts is always welcome. 

Grading The President’s Health Care Speech
by Uwe Reinhardt
Health Affairs Briefing: Bending The Cost Curve In Health Spending
by Chris Fleming
Regional Payment And Delivery Reforms: Critical To [...]

The Senate Finance Committee is now considering a proposal that would impose an aggregate tax of $6.7 billion dollars per year on “any U.S. health insurance provider,” in proportion to market share, whether for profit or not for profit, but not on employers who “self fund” their employees’ coverage.
About 160 million Americans have private health [...]

The complex health care overhaul underway in Congress would require nearly all Americans to have health insurance – a provision known as “individual responsibility” or an “individual mandate.” Supporters warn other reforms are not possible without this requirement.  But many opponents say such a mandate is unaffordable, and unacceptable in a free society. 
A new Health [...]

During the current health reform debate, both Democrats and Republicans have often made their case in terms of values such as liberty, justice, and equality. One example has been the Republican opposition to the “individual mandate” – requiring everyone to purchase health insurance if “affordable” coverage is available – which Senator John Kyl of Arizona [...]

In recent days, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have taken up the argument that the Democratic health reform bills represent a “government takeover” of the health care system.  These claims misrepresent the substantive content of the bills, since the approach of the main committee bills is to extend employer-sponsored, private insurance.  But this rhetorical exaggeration [...]

One of the main points of dispute in the health reform debate has been whether to include a new public health insurance option. Legislation approved by three House committees and the Senate, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee includes such a public option, but the proposal unveiled yesterday by Senate Finance Committe Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) does not.
Earlier this week, Health [...]

The biggest flashpoint in the ongoing debate over the future of the U.S. health system is whether Congress should change the balance of power that now favors the private health insurance industry. Opponents of the idea argue that a public health insurance plan competing with private insurers would lead to inferior health care, harm providers, [...]