Policy & Regulation

This report provides welfare dependence indicators through 2019 for most indicators and through 2020 for other indicators, reflecting changes that have taken place since enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996.

This report analyzes newly-released data from CMS that provides information on changes in ownership among hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), based on information reported to CMS through the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS).

Prescriptions dispensed for antipsychotics in nursing homes and assisted living facilities increased since the beginning of the pandemic, with 20.8 thousand dispensed in 2020 compared to 20.5 thousand in 2019. This represents a 1.5% increase in total prescriptions since the beginning of the pandemic despite lower resident census levels in long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

Long-standing health inequities and poor health outcomes remain a pressing policy challenge in the U.S. While opportunities to advance health equity through clinical care continue to be important, addressing the ways in which social determinants of health (SDOH) increase or decrease the risk of poor health outcomes is critical to improving the nation’s health and wellbeing.

This Annual Evaluation Plan is one of several required Evidence Act products, including the 4-year Evidence-Building Plan (also referred to as the Learning Agenda), Capacity Assessment, and agency Evaluation Policy. The FY2023 Evaluation Plan priority areas are aligned with the goals of the FY 2022-2026 HHS Strategic Plan and the FY 2023- 2026 HHS Evidence-Building Plan.

Under the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act), the Capacity Assessment requires agencies to assess the coverage, quality, methods, effectiveness, and independence of their statistics, evaluation, research, and analysis efforts.

The HHS Evidence Building Plan, required by the Evidence Act, is a systematic plan for identifying and addressing policy questions relevant to the programs, policies, and regulations of the agency.

In response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provided a 2021 Special Enrollment Period (SEP) from February 15 to August 15, 2021. Understanding the sociodemographic composition of Marketplace enrollees allows for better targeted outreach and enrollment assistance. However, many enrollees do not report their race and ethnicity.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) includes two key provisions that expand and increase premium tax credit benefits for Marketplace consumers, improving affordability of coverage for millions. Under current law, these provisions will sunset in 2023 if they are not extended, resulting in higher out-of-pocket costs for enrollees and an increase in the number of uninsured.

This brief provides an overview of the important role the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had on increasing access to comprehensive coverage among women. Over 10 million adult women (19-64) gained coverage between 2010 and 2019, as did over 7 million women of reproductive age (15-44). Despite the ACA’s coverage gains, approximately 7.9 million women of reproductive age remain uninsured.