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Larry Levitt Profile picture
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15 Feb, 4 tweets, 1 min read
Today is the beginning of the new pandemic special enrollment period for Obamacare. Or, is it Bidencare now?
8.9 million uninsured people are eligible for ACA health coverage with a free or reduced premium in the special enrollment period created by President Biden that begins today.

kff.org/private-insura…
This will be the first ACA enrollment period since 2016 with a significant outreach campaign. (And, the campaign in that 2016 open enrollment was curtailed at the very end in January by the incoming Trump administration.)
The Biden administration's ACA outreach campaign will help people understand the help available to them. But, coverage will still be out of reach for many. That could change a lot if the COVID relief plan passes with increased premium help, supercharging the enrollment period.

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More from @larry_levitt

Larry Levitt Profile picture
19 Jan
As the Biden Administration takes office, expect a bunch of executive actions. Many will be about undoing what Trump did. Some can take effect immediately, while others will take time to go through the regulatory process.

Here's what might happen in health care. (thread)
COVID will be the Biden Administration’s top health care priority. Expect them to:

Put scientists and public health experts front and center.
Send a clear message on masks.
Provide a bigger federal role in vaccination.
Reenter the World Health Organization.
Possible Biden Administration actions on the ACA and Medicaid:

Reopen ACA enrollment and restore massive cuts to outreach and navigators.
Restrict enrollment in short-term plans not required to cover preexisting conditions.
Prohibit Medicaid work requirements and “block grants.”
Read 7 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
7 Jan
The Biden Administration will have two powerful tools to make health care more affordable and accessible:

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

State waivers under the ACA and Medicaid.

@JAMAHealthForum

jamanetwork.com/channels/healt…
The Trump Administration encouraged states to use ACA and Medicaid waivers to restrict coverage, including Medicaid work requirements.

The Biden Administration could instead encourage states to expand coverage and improve affordability and give them the flexibility to do so.
Even with the new Democratic majority in the Senate, a robust public option will be difficult to pass, and Medicare for all is not in the cards in the near term.

But, with waivers, one or more states could potentially show how it could work.
Read 4 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
21 Dec 20
Here's a link to the COVID relief bill.

The provisions protecting patients from surprise medical bills starts on page 4,095.

rules.house.gov/sites/democrat…
Congress is finally poised to protect patients from surprise medical bills.

It took a pandemic to overcome a political fight over how much insurers should pay out-of-network doctors and hospitals.
Insurers, employers, and consumers have argued payments to out-of-network providers should be based on a benchmark like in-network negotiated rates.

Providers favored an arbitration process for determining payment.

The bill Congress is poised to pass calls for arbitration.
Read 13 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
18 Dec 20
As Congress considers a ban on surprise medical bills, a new KFF survey finds 80% of the public supports such a prohibition.

Few health care ideas have this degree of bipartisan support.

kff.org/coronavirus-co… Image
We've been debating surprise bills for so long, it's easy to lose track of how bonkers these bills are.

For example: You get taken to the nearest ER (because, it's an emergency). Your insurer covers it. But, the hospital or ER doctors send you extra bills, because...they can.
Another example of a surprise medical bill:

You do your research and pick an in-network hospital for your planned procedure. But, an out-of-network anesthesiologist shows up in the operating room and sends you a surprise extra bill over and above what your insurer pays.
Read 4 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
7 Nov 20
A lot of President-Elect Biden's sweeping health care plans will be stymied if Republicans maintain control of the Senate, but he can and probably will reverse much of what President Trump has done in health care administratively.
Some Trump actions Biden can reverse:

Short-term plans not covering pre-existing conditions
ACA outreach cuts
Work requirements and funding caps in Medicaid
Gender identity discrimination
Family planning funding restrictions
Immigration limits for those using health benefits
Possibly the most important thing President-Elect Biden can do in health care at this moment in history is approach the pandemic with facts, science, and empathy. None of those things require an act of Congress.
Read 6 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
28 Sep 20
Biden's public option proposal has gotten more attention, but his expansion of ACA premium subsidies could be an even bigger deal.

More than 12 million people with employer health insurance could save money. That's a group the ACA largely left out.

kff.org/health-reform/…
Biden's proposal to build on the ACA eliminates the "subsidy cliff," providing help to enrollees who are middle-income, older, and in rural areas.

It also eliminates the "firewall" that prevents people with expensive employer health insurance from accessing ACA subsidies.
If Democrats sweep the November election, Biden's proposal to expand ACA subsidies could attract broad support.

His proposal for a public option has significant public support, but would bring vehement opposition from the health care industry.
Read 6 tweets

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