Many states have established a system to collect information from insurance companies on health care price and quality. Washington State is one of only six states that currently make this information more accessible to consumers online, with the recent launch of the new HealthCareCompare website. The website aggregates claims data from commercial, Medicaid and Medicare...Continue reading→

The Trump Administration unexpectedly suspended risk adjustment payments to Exchange plans after conflicting court decisions about the payment methodology. Experts say that the Administration doesn’t need to suspend the payments (only re-evaluate the methodology) and is reacting in an unnecessarily slow and disruptive way. Originally one of three risk mitigation strategies set out in the...Continue reading→

A coalition of conservatives, including the Heritage Foundation and former Senator Rick Santorum, released a blueprint “The Health Care Choices Proposal” to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Again. It contains similar provisions to Graham-Cassidy, one of last year’s (many) failed attempts to undermine the ACA. The proposal is very unlikely to pass...Continue reading→

Seattle’s Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal introduced the State-Based Universal Health Care Act of 2018 last week. The new bill would allow states to develop their own plans to provide access to health care for all of their residents. It would provide states with access to federal funding streams and regulatory flexibility to support affordable, universal health...Continue reading→

The news has been filled with images and stories of families being separated at the border. The emotional and health impacts are nothing to sneeze at. Especially for children, whose Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are adding up quickly. But moms are reportedly being pulled away from their breastfeeding babies. There are serious short- and long-term...Continue reading→