Three Cheers for New Birth Control Requirements in WA State
Beginning this month, insurers must cover a 12-month supply of birth control pills at a time. This change came due to legislation passed last year to remove barriers for women.
Open Enrollment – Still Enrolling for February 1 Coverage!
Washington State continues its Open Enrollment period until next Monday, January 15, so there is still time for individuals and families to get coverage for the remainder of 2018. Over 230,000 individuals have already selected plans for January 1 coverage via Washington HealthPlanFinder – a 35% increase over January 2017. Open enrollment in the 39 states served by HealthCare.gov ended on...
Welcome 2018!
As the new year begins, we expect continued threats to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other public health insurance programs, but there will also be action at the state level, including efforts to mitigate setbacks and move forward. We hope you will join us to protect health care...
What May Happen in the Year Ahead?
Some of our favorite health policy journalists and experts are speculating about next steps in health policy (including Vox, Axios, The Hill, and Politico). Here are some key issues we will track closely: Additional threats to the ACA? Congressional Republicans have an unclear strategy about the ACA. As noted in Politico, “GOP leaders don’t have a solution, but they don’t have...
You Win Some, You Lose Some in Tax “Reform”
The tax bill was moving full-speed ahead in mid-December. That trajectory moved it right to the President’s desk on December 20. Check out this excellent summary of how the final bill might affect you. We tracked two health care provisions in the bill – the individual mandate repeal and the elimination of the high-cost medical deduction. The...
Washington Legislature: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
The state’s 60-day legislative session starts on Monday, January 8. This year brings a change as Senate Democrats re-take control after the Majority Coalition Caucus seized it in late 2012. Among the many bills under consideration are ones that: create a state reinsurance program intended to mitigate expected health insurance premium increases due to the...
Temporary Relief for CHIP
Just before the holidays, Congress passed a “stopgap” spending bill, averting a government shutdown and funding the government through January 19. They included a six-month extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and community health centers, backdated to October 1. Unfortunately, $750 million was cut from the Prevention and Public Health Trust Fund to...
What We’re Reading and Listening To
Net Neutrality: Did you stop to think that the repeal of net neutrality rules could impact health disparities? Neither did we, until we read this op-ed suggesting that the repeal of neutrality will stifle health care innovations such as telemedicine, online appointment scheduling and mobile health apps – putting them further out of reach for...
A Camel is a Horse Designed by a Committee
A final tax bill has been negotiated by conference committee and initial details began emerging yesterday. Action is expected in the Senate as early as Monday. A conference committee may have been moot if not for a significant mistake; in the fervor of last minute promises and handwritten changes, Senate Republicans failed to check their work and mistakenly eliminated...
A Lump of Coal Wrapped Up with a Bow?
According to folklore, kids who misbehave get a lump of coal on Christmas morning instead of a present. While Congressional Republicans assuredly deserve that lump of coal, we’re hoping advocates get the gift of Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reauthorization. Congress avoided a government shutdown last week when they approved a two-week funding bill. They...