Health Care

Policy Brief #7: Designing a Consumer-Friendly Exchange: The exchange is a store where consumers can buy health insurance products – and anyone who’s worked retail knows that the consumer experience is critical.  For all the attention that must be paid to getting the behind-the-scenes aspects of the exchange to work, the front-end is just as important.

Policy Brief #6: The Exchange and Public Programs: While the exchange represents a significant new opportunity for states to improve the quality and affordability of health insurance, it is only one piece of the larger health care landscape.  Public programs, including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), will continue to play a significant role, and the way they interact with the exchange will be important to the success of both.

Policy Brief #5: Driving Quality and Cost Improvements through the Exchange: A health care exchange that pools its enrollees’ bargaining power will help give consumers a better deal on their coverage, but it will need to do more to get the unsustainable rise in health care costs under control.

Policy Brief #4: Ensuring Exchange Stability and Protecting Against Adverse Selection: The idea of creating health insurance purchasing pools, like those called for in the Affordable Care Act, is not a new one. In the past, many states have experimented with creating such pools, and their experience has shown that mechanisms like the exchange can succeed at improving choice and holding down costs.