Health Reform Trends, Research and Analysis

Healthcare.gov is a federal government Website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.  The main page has five main Tabs:

1. Find Insurance Options  Here you can see which public, private and community programs meet your needs. It includes a tool to help you find the health insurance best suited to your needs, whether it’s private insurance for individuals, families, and small businesses, or public programs that may work for you. It was created to help consumers under the health insurance reform law, the Affordable Care Act.
2. Learn About Prevention. Under the Affordable Care Act, you and your family may be eligible for some important preventive services—which can help you avoid illness and improve your health—at no additional cost to you.
3. Compare Care Quality The Affordable Care Act is designed not just to control health care costs, but to improve quality of care as well. The Federal government is creating tools to allow people to compare a variety of quality measures of care providers.
   • Hospital Compare is a tool that helps you compare the quality of care that hospitals provide. It provides a list of U.S. hospitals which includes hospital demographics (location, hospital type) and 44 quality-of-care measures. It also includes data on some Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.
   • Nursing Home Compare is a tool that helps you compare the quality of care that nursing homes provide. It provides a list of U.S. nursing homes which includes demographics (location and type of facility) and nursing home ratings, which include health inspection reports, staffing data, and quality measures.
   • Home Health Compare is a tool that helps you compare the quality of care that home health agencies provide. It provides a list of U.S. home health agencies, including demographics, services provided and quality measures. The information comes from home health agencies that have agreed to submit quality information.
   • Dialysis Facility Compare is a tool that helps you compare the quality of care that dialysis facilities provide. It provides a list of U.S. dialysis facilities which includes services provided, quality measures, and resources.
4. Understand the Law
   • New reforms under the Affordable Care Act begin to bring to an end some of the worst abuses of the insurance industry. These reforms will give Americans new rights and benefits, including helping more children get health coverage, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care, and giving patients access to recommended preventive services without cost-sharing.
   • These reforms will apply to all new health plans, and to many existing health plans as they are renewed. Many other new benefits of the law have already taken effect, including rebate checks for seniors in the Medicare donut hole and tax credits for small businesses. And more rights, protections and benefits for Americans are on the way now through 2014. Read the full law.
5. Information for You breaks out six groups of people to provide more info.
   • Families with Children For many hardworking families, affordable insurance can be hard to find. The Affordable Care Act is giving you more control over your family’s health care by expanding your options for health insurance and making them more affordable.
   • Individuals Some insurers will say that you have a health condition if you smoke, are overweight, are taking prescriptions, or had a medical condition in the past. The Affordable Care Act offers important benefits to women, recognizing that women have unique health care needs and are often health care decision makers in their households.
   • People with Disabilities If you’re living with a disability, private health insurance may be hard to come by. Even if you can afford to buy it, it probably doesn’t cover all of your needs. Worrying about where to get coverage and the cost of your care is the last thing you want to do. The Affordable Care Act is expanding your options for health insurance and making them more affordable.
   • Seniors The new law strengthens Medicare, reduces fraud, and closes the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage known as the ‘donut hole.’  In 2018, seniors can expect to save on average almost $200 per year in premiums and over $200 per year in coinsurance compared to what they would have paid without the new law. The Affordable Care Act also takes a number of steps that improve health care for people with Medicare.
   • Young Adults If you’re age 18-25, you may not be thinking about health insurance. You may think you’re healthy and don’t have to worry about it. Or, the cost might be keeping you from getting coverage. But, what if you get into an accident or have a serious illness? Your medical bills could put you in debt or ruin your credit and you may not be able to afford the health care you need to recover fully. The Affordable Care Act is expanding your options for health insurance and making them more affordable.
   • Employers Small business: In general, you are considered a small business if you have up to 50 employees. In some states, this will include you if you are self-employed with no employees. Large Employers: You are generally considered a large business if you have more than 50 employees.

In addition there is an Implementation Center sub page. Here you’ll find materials related to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including regulations, authorities and requests for comment.

This area includes information published by the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for implementing the law. Topics include Regulations, Authorities, Reports, Councils & Groups, Letters, Grants, and Brochures.