A key challenge of health reform efforts is to make health insurance affordable for individuals and families who lack coverage without harming those with coverage or increasing federal spending. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) addresses this challenge in part by providing tax subsidies to qualified individuals for purchasing individual insurance and retaining tax exemptions for employer and employee contributions to the cost of premiums of employer-sponsored insurance. These tax exemptions cost approximately $250 billion annually in lost tax revenue and have been criticized for favoring higher earners and conferring preferential treatment of employer-sponsored over individual insurance. We analyzed three options for leveling the financial playing field between the two insurance markets by reallocating the value of tax benefits of employer coverage. We found that one option that uses the subsidy formula employed in the insurance Marketplaces under the ACA for both the individual and employer-sponsored insurance markets, and additionally requires the subsidy to be at least $1,250 without an upper income limit on subsidy eligibility imposed, could expand insurance coverage and reduce individual market premiums relative to the ACA with no additional federal spending.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0209 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
'Every woman deserves that': A qualitative exploration of the impact of Australia's national maternity strategy.
Women Birth
January 2025
School of Nursing and Midwifery & Centre for Quality and Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia; Western Health, St Albans, Victoria, Australia.
Background: Since 2019, maternity care in Australia has been guided by the national maternity policy, Woman-centred care: Strategic directions for Australian maternity services (the Strategy). The Strategy has four core values (safety, respect, choice and access), which underpin 12 principles of woman-centred care.
Aim: To describe women's experiences of receiving maternity care in Australia and explore how their care aligned with the values and principles of the Strategy.
From Laggard To Leader: Why Health Care In The United States Is Failing, And How To Fix It.
Health Aff (Millwood)
January 2025
Len M. Nichols, Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.
Health care in the United States is among the most technologically advanced in the world, but it is largely failing to meet the needs of the nation. The US can claim international excellence in important areas of care, such as cancer treatment, and it leads the world in biomedical innovation and building a well-prepared and dedicated clinical workforce. The Affordable Care Act was a major step forward in expanding access to health care in the US.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCost-effectiveness of monitoring and liver cancer surveillance among patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B.
PLoS One
January 2025
Department of Surgery, Asian Liver Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America.
Patients with chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) have an increased risk for death from liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the United States, only an estimated 37% of adults with chronic hepatitis B diagnosis without cirrhosis receive monitoring with at least an annual alanine transaminase (ALT) and hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and an estimated 59% receive antiviral treatment when they develop active hepatitis or cirrhosis. A Markov model was used to calculate the costs, health impact and cost-effectiveness of increased monitoring of adults with HBeAg negative inactive or HBeAg positive immune tolerant CHB who have no cirrhosis or significant fibrosis and are not recommended by the current American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) clinical practice guidelines to receive antiviral treatment, and to assess whether the addition of HCC surveillance would be cost-effective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBenefits and durability of an affordable prosthetic silicone cushion liner locally manufactured in a resource-limited environment: Enabling adoption of total surface bearing sockets and silicone cushion liners.
Prosthet Orthot Int
January 2025
Green Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre, Pokhara, Nepal.
Introduction: Prosthetic silicone liners improve comfort and skin protection and allow the use of total surface bearing (TSB) sockets, which provide enhanced proprioception and comfort. Unfortunately, silicone liners are cost-prohibitive in resource-limited environments (RLEs) where patellar tendon bearing (PTB) sockets with PE-lite liners remain standard, leading to patient discomfort and skin issues.
Objective: This study evaluates the benefits and durability of an affordable silicone liner locally manufactured in an RLE to promote TSB socket adoption, aiming to enhance prosthetic care and patient outcomes.
Medicaid Spending in Coordination-Only Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
Importance: More than 4 million Medicare beneficiaries have enrolled in dual-eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs), and coordination-only D-SNPs are common. Little is known about the impact of coordination-only D-SNPs on Medicaid-covered services and spending, including long-term services and supports, which are financed primarily by Medicaid.
Objective: To evaluate changes in Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS) spending before and after new enrollment in coordination-only D-SNPs vs new enrollment in non-D-SNP Medicare Advantage (MA) plans among community-living beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare and North Carolina Medicaid.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!