Anti-Steering or Anti-Tiering
Three Things to Know About the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor April 5, 2017
On March 22nd, House Resolution 372, known as the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act, passed in the House by a vote of 416 to 7. The bill repeals antitrust exemptions for health insurers created by the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 (15 U.S.C. §§ 1011-1015) (“McCarran-Ferguson”). Unfortunately, despite bipartisan support for this legislation, it is unlikely to significantly improve competition in health insurance markets. The legislation is unlikely to improve health insurance market concentration, or create a robust market for health insurance sales across state lines, despite GOP hopes. The legislation …
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Academic Articles and Reports Roundup: March 2017
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor April 2, 2017
Happy April! We hope you are enjoying the start of longer and warmer days. This month’s roundup includes articles from March about 1) the impact of reference pricing|2) policies to promote healthcare market competition|3) chargemaster list prices|and 4) ACA enrollment figures. 1) The Impact of Reference Pricing Reference Pricing Changes the ‘Choice Architecture’ Of Health Care For Consumers published by James C. Robinson, Timothy T. Brown, and Christopher Whaley (Health Affairs), discusses how reference pricing has impacted provider prices, patient choices, quality of care, and employer expenditures. The authors …
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Update: Carolinas Healthcare Cites DOJ Second Circuit Loss in Anti-Steering Case
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor October 17, 2016
October 2016 Update: We have been following the suit filed in June by the Department of Justice and the North Carolina Attorney General against Carolinas Healthcare System (“CHS”). The case involves a Sherman Act Section 1 challenge to “anti-steering provisions” in CHS’ contracts with insurers. Last week, CHS filed a supplemental brief arguing that the case should be dismissed because a new Second Circuit decision rejected many of the government’s arguments in an anti-steering case involving American Express. CHS’ brief extends on its line of attack on the DOJ’s complaint, …
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Update: Carolinas Healthcare Argues DOJ Fails to Allege Actual Competitive Harm in Anti-Steering Suit
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor September 24, 2016
September 2016 Update: We previously blogged about the suit filed in June by the Department of Justice and the North Carolina Attorney General against Carolinas Healthcare System (“CHS”). The case involves a Sherman Act Section 1 challenge to anti-steering provisions in CHS’ contracts with insurers. In August, CHS moved for judgment on the pleadings. CHS filed its reply brief in support of the motion on Wednesday. In its brief, CHS argues that the DOJ complaint is insufficient as a matter of law because it fails to show that the anti-steering …
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CPR & HCI3 Release State Price Transparency Report Card with Appendix by The Source
Anne Marie Helm, Managing Editor July 8, 2015
Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR) and the Health Care Incentives Improvement Group (HCI3) just released the third edition of the Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws. The report highlights the five states that received non-failing grades, all of which received different grades from 2014: New Hampshire (A), Colorado (B), Maine (B), Vermont (C) and Virginia (C). A key feature of the report is Appendix I: An Analysis of Popular Legal Arguments Against Price Transparency, authored by The Source’s editors, Jaime S. King and Anne Marie Helm. We thank CPR and HCI3 …
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