Analyzing National Health Reform
Urban Institute's ACA Monitoring & Tracking Series
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Virginia
Spotlight On: Virginia
Virginia Site Visit Report
Virginia has made significant progress in health reform implementation, despite significant political opposition in and out of the state government. Governor Robert McDonnell, despite his strong opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), appointed the Health and Human Resources Secretary William Hazel, MD, to lead an effort to consider federal health reform implementation and health reform initiatives for Virginia that go beyond the federal reform. Secretary Hazel developed the Virginia Health Reform Initiative (VHRI) at the request of the governor, which included an advisory council of key legislators and stakeholders.
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Minnesota
Spotlight On: Minnesota
Minnesota Site Visit Report
Prepared by researchers at the Urban Institute, the report finds that Minnesota is making significant progress in implementing the ACA. Thus far the state has secured multiple grants to support different aspects of ACA planning and implementation; adopted the early Medicaid expansion and implemented other early insurance reforms; begun development of a single, integrated information technology system to handle determination and enrollment for all insurance affordability programs; and taken vigorous steps toward building an effective health insurance exchange in time to meet federal deadlines.
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Colorado
Spotlight On: Colorado
Colorado Site Visit Report
Prepared by researchers at the Urban Institute, the report finds that Colorado has made substantial progress in implementing health reform by: expanding access to health coverage; creating consumer protections for purchasers of insurance; and implementing a new health insurance exchange.
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Oregon
Spotlight On: Oregon
Oregon Site Visit Report
As Oregon has been a pioneer of health care reform for nearly 25 years, the Urban Institute authors conclude that in many ways, the ACA simply provided the necessary resources and a clear timeline for Oregon to do many of the things state leaders had already been planning. For example, Oregon was one of the first states to enact legislation to establish a health insurance exchange under the ACA, but the concept of an exchange has been around in the state since 2006.
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Maryland
Spotlight On: Maryland
Maryland Site Visit Report
The report’s authors from the Urban Institute find that while much work remains, a combination of strong leadership, inclusive planning and deliberate but aggressive action by committed state officials and system stakeholders has permitted Maryland to make significant strides in designing its reformed health care system.
Health Reform News & Research
Health Reform GPS
Health Reform GPS is a comprehensive Web portal from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services that offers users the information and insight needed to cover, analyze and implement health reform.
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Declining Health Insurance in Low-Income Working Families and Small Businesses
A report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as part of its "Affordable Care Act (ACA) Implementation-Monitoring and Tracking Series," examines the trends in employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) for low-income working families and small businesses over the last decade.
A Decade of Coverage Losses: Implications for the Affordable Care Act
A report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as part of itsAffordable Care Act (ACA) Implementation Monitoring and Tracking Series, analyzes coverage trends among children, parents and adults without dependent children as a guide to changes in coverage that could be expected in the coming years without ACA.
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Will Health Reform Lead to Job Loss? Evidence from Massachusetts Says No.
This report examines employment trends in Massachusetts as the state implemented health reform and finds no indication of negative economic and job consequences relative to reform.
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State Progress Toward Health Reform Implementation
This issue brief divides states into three groups based on their progress toward implementing insurance exchanges and then examines, the expected benefits.
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Trends in U.S. Health Care Spending Leading Up to Health Reform
A report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as part of its Affordable Care Act (ACA) Implementation—Monitoring and Tracking Series, finds that in the decade leading up to the ACA’s passage, per capita spending on personal health services among the nonelderly rose at an annual rate 3.5 percent faster than general consumer prices.
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Virtually Every State Experienced Deteriorating Access to Care for Adults Over the Past Decade
A report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as part of its Affordable Care Act (ACA) Implementation Monitoring and Tracking Series, shows that the ability of U.S. adults to access basic health care services has declined in nearly every state over the last decade. Adults without health insurance saw larger declines in the ability to obtain basic health care services, compared to those with coverage. By 2010, almost half of uninsured adults (48.1%) had an unmet health need due to cost, compared to 11.2 percent of insured adults.
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