Perhaps the most under-covered aspect of health reform is its dramatic expansion of coverage for the treatment of psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion will finance care for millions of low-income Americans, now uninsured, who suffer from these conditions.

The latest greatest edition of Health Wonk Review is live over at Managed Care Matters and, as host Joe Paduda notes, it’s all about health care cost trends, reform implementation. This edition includes a collection of posts speculating about the likelihood of decreasing health care costs over the next decade. It also offers several pieces focused [...]

It will be almost five months before the states’ health insurance exchanges will be up and running and already we’re seeing media stories suggesting that some insurance companies will not sign up to sell their policies on the exchanges – at least not right away. “Big insurers wary of entering new Obamacare markets,” read the [...]

We at Families USA estimate that nearly 26 million Americans will be eligible for premium tax credits to help make health coverage affordable.

The HHS has announced a temporary change to rules for the ACA’s SHOP program. Critics of the ACA are using the change to spread confusion and doubt about the law.

I was stunned when Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), accused me of being disingenuous because I told the story of a Florida woman who might be alive today had she not been blackballed by insurance companies after being treated for breast cancer several years ago.

The latest edition of Health Wonk Review is up, hosted over at the Health Business Blog. Thanks to David E. Williams for the great wrap-up.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin uses some pretty fuzzy “facts” (and we use that term loosely) in his attempts to badmouth the Affordable Care Act.

Harold Pollack continues his series of interviews with health policy experts, talking this month with Michael Chernew, Professor of Health Care Policy in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. The two discuss a wide range of topics, including the ACA’s daunting goal of controlling spending while improving quality.

Escape Fire, The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, describes how health care in America has turned into a business. How the quest for money has hurt the quality of care provided to patients and how it has kept millions of us from having access to even mediocre care.

Miss last week’s edition Health Wonk Review? No worries, it’s still up over at the Disease Management Care Blog.

What’s “basic” in health care is an issue of heated debate. Individuals and groups as diverse as cancer advocates, children’s hospitals, parents of disabled children, physical therapists, dentists, and optometrists have been waiting for final clarification from HHS.

The latest edition of Health Wonk Review went live over at the Health Talent Transformation Blog today.

Harold Pollack talks with Jonathan Cohn, Senior Editor of The New Republic about the “wild ride” ahead for the Affordable Care Act, now that it’s survived a fierce Congressional battle, a Supreme Court challenge and the recent Presidential election.

The claim that – as a result of an IRS ruling – “millions” will be left uninsured under Obamacare is “fear-mongering, pure and simple,” says healthy policy writer Maggie Mahar.

Today, many Americans are asking, “Will my premiums go up in 2014?” There is no simple answer … but the answer for many Americans is that premiums will actually fall.

The latest edition of Health Wonk Review went live over at the Health Affairs Blog yesterday.

Host Chris Fleming decided to kick off the New Year with an “Inauguration” theme (because of the Presidential inauguration and because this is the inaugural edition of 2013). Fittingly, the review started with a collection of health policy predictions for 2013 from Health Wonk Review cofounder Joe Paduda.

Harold Pollack talks with blogger Aaron Carroll about how he became a policy wonk, about his favorite health policy charts and the road ahead for health reform.

Health reform critics claim Americans will soon feel “sticker shock” over climbing health premiums, but Maggie Mahar says they aren’t telling the whole story … and that coverage will actually cost less for many small firms and individuals.

Beginning in 2014, millions of Americans will discover that they qualify for subsidies designed to help them purchase their own health insurance. The aid will come in the form of tax credits, and many will be surprised by how generous they are.

Health policy historian Paul Starr, author of Remedy and Reaction, explains why Barack Obama succeeded on health reform while Bill Clinton failed … and why the battle over reform is far from over.

Even if Mitt Romney were elected, he alone could not overturn major provisions of healthcare reform. Only Congress can pass the legislation needed to change the ACA. Republicans are expected to maintain control of the House, but if Democrats hold the Senate, they will be able to block House bills aimed at eviscerating “Obamacare.”

Inevitably, opponents of the Affordable Care Act will continue to hunt for ways to undermine reform, says Washington & Lee law professor Timothy Jost, though “they may be shooting themselves in the foot.”

We celebrate this decision was a huge win for millions of Americans who have so much at stake. We’ve said it again and again … that the law’s reforms are a huge victory for women, for Baby Boomers, and especially for so many families who have faced denial of coverage because of pre-existing conditions. At the same time, we sincerely expect this will be a win for all of us who hope reforms will actually reduce costs in the long run.

This week, Maggie Mahar edits the Health Wonk Review, a biweekly compendium of the best of the health policy blogs.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) calls on the states to create health insurance exchanges – marketplaces where individuals and small businesses can shop for and compare health insurance plans. Beginning in 2014, insurers peddling policies on an exchange will have to meet the ACA’s standards by covering “essential benefits,” capping out-of-pocket expenses for individuals, and [...]

While America waits for the U.S. Supreme Court to make its decision about health reform, is the health care system standing still?

Quite the contrary.

Two years from now, when the main pillars of health reform become operative, young families will be able to buy decent coverage through an insurance exchange. Families will receive financial help if they can’t afford to buy such coverage.

The fact that the Affordable Care Act defines ten mandatory categories of “essential benefits” provides a “floor” of coverage that can not be taken away. After 2014, no plan offered to individuals or small groups can exclude maternity care, prescription drugs, rehabilitation or habilitation services, or mental health services, to mention a few.

Not entirely sure when state health insurance exchanges will take effect? Curious about Grandma’s new free preventive services? Call someone who cares.

America has always been defined by progress.  Yet the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has elements in many states trying to turn back time. Louisiana, with it’s barrel-bottom ranking of the 49th healthiest state to live in, adds to a growing list of states bucking reform as its governor refuses to set up a federally-mandated health insurance exchange, those [...]

Vermont is a signature away from adopting an ambitious plan that would put the state on a path toward a single-payer health care system and ultimately, universal health care for its residents. When State House Bill 202 is signed by Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin on May 26th, it will be a big deal: a big [...]

Today, we received a reminder from our friends at Families USA that the road to health reform has plenty of potholes ahead. A statement from Families USA condemns House Republican plans to vote on a bill to block the delivery of ACA grants that are intended to help states establish health insurance exchanges – the [...]