Health Insurance Marketplace

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.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010. Since then, the law has led to an historic expansion of health insurance coverage across all states and all demographic groups within the U.S. This Briefing Book features key findings from two dozen reports published in 2021-2022.

This issue brief analyzes changes in health insurance coverage and examines trends in access to care among Black Americans using data from 2011-2020. This Issue Brief is part of a series of ASPE reports examining the change in coverage rates and access to care after implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) among different racial and ethnic populations.

The Affordable Care Act provides premium subsidies for Marketplace eligible individuals to improve health insurance affordability, as well as cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) for many enrollees that limit out-of-pocket spending such as deductibles.

Standardized plans are a policy option that can simplify Marketplace consumer comparison shopping and bring more value to consumers by offering the same deductibles and cost-sharing across plans. This report provides an overview of the evidence to date on how standardized plans can potentially benefit consumers, improve health equity, and enhance plan competition.

On January 1, 2022, the surprise billing provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 - commonly referred to as the No Surprises Act - go into effect. Surprise billing occurs when a privately insured individual receives an unexpected bill either in an emergency situation or when a service in an in-network facility is provided by an out-of-network provider.

This Data Point presents current estimates of uninsured rates among early care and education workers (ECE), which includes individuals employed by Head Start, childcare center providers, and preschools. These populations have lower incomes on average and often lack access to benefits, including health coverage, commonly received by teachers in the K-12 system and post-secondary schools.

Federal surveys relied on by researchers and policymakers for estimates of the uninsured population have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially influencing the accuracy of their estimates. This report analyzes evidence from a variety of data sources, including surveys and administrative data, which collectively indicate that the number of uninsured people in the U.S.

This Issue Brief reviews evidence on factors affecting enrollment in health coverage among uninsured populations, including take-up of Medicaid and subsidized Marketplace plans among eligible individuals.