You are here

Home > Making Health Care Work >

Making Health Care Work Reports

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Making the Grade

When it comes to health care, there are few magic-bullet solutions for the many problems consumers face in the marketplace: insurers don’t compete for their business, leading to higher prices and lower quality. Important information about coverage is buried in the fine print, making it hard to know what’s really covered or which plan is right. And costs are continuing their unsustainable rise. Yet there are policy solutions that can make a difference and give consumers a better deal on health care. One of the most important of these is the creation of new state-based health insurance marketplaces, called exchanges. These exchanges, authorized by 2010’s health reform law, offer the states the chance to address the twin problems of cost and quality, and help consumers get a fair shake when buying insurance.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Building a Better Health Care Marketplace

Policy Brief #7: Designing a Consumer-Friendly Exchange: The exchange is a store where consumers can buy health insurance products – and anyone who’s worked retail knows that the consumer experience is critical.  For all the attention that must be paid to getting the behind-the-scenes aspects of the exchange to work, the front-end is just as important.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Building a Better Health Care Marketplace

Policy Brief #6: The Exchange and Public Programs: While the exchange represents a significant new opportunity for states to improve the quality and affordability of health insurance, it is only one piece of the larger health care landscape.  Public programs, including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), will continue to play a significant role, and the way they interact with the exchange will be important to the success of both.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Building a Better Health Care Marketplace

Policy Brief #5: Driving Quality and Cost Improvements through the Exchange: A health care exchange that pools its enrollees’ bargaining power will help give consumers a better deal on their coverage, but it will need to do more to get the unsustainable rise in health care costs under control.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Building a Better Health Care Marketplace

Policy Brief #4: Ensuring Exchange Stability and Protecting Against Adverse Selection: The idea of creating health insurance purchasing pools, like those called for in the Affordable Care Act, is not a new one. In the past, many states have experimented with creating such pools, and their experience has shown that mechanisms like the exchange can succeed at improving choice and holding down costs.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Building a Better Health Care Marketplace

Policy Brief #3: Spotlight on Small Business: While many Americans struggle with the rising costs and eroding quality of health care, the plight of small businesses stands out – lacking the advantages possessed by larger businesses, they face unique challenges.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Building a Better Health Care Marketplace

Policy Brief #2: Negotiating for a Better Deal: A well-made state exchange can help deliver lower costs for individuals and small businesses. Just as big businesses negotiate with insurers, using the bargaining power of their employees to push for lower premiums, so too can exchange enrollees benefit from a muscular exchange that negotiates on their behalf for better choices and lower costs.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Building a Better Health Care Marketplace

Policy Brief #1: Ensuring Accountability: The opportunity to create a state exchange will allow Texas to increase competition and improve choices in our insurance market. However, to fully realize this opportunity, the exchange must be accountable to the public, and the individual and small business consumers who will buy their coverage through it.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

The Cost of Repeal

On March 23, 2010, after a long congressional debate, President Barack Obama signed into law comprehensive federal health care reform legislation, known as the Affordable Care Act or ACA. But the enactment of the law did not end the debate. This year, Texas’ elected officials will face their own choices regarding proposals to repeal or roll back existing law. This report examines the costs and benefits of repeal for the taxpayers, consumers, and businesses of our state.

Report | TexPIRG | Health Care

Delivering on the Promise

The recently passed federal health care reform law will make significant changes in how health insurance and health care work for consumers, businesses, and local and state governments, as well as how insurers and providers operate.  But whether Americans experience improved care, lower costs and greater access depends largely on what happens next. This guide has been written to assist state policymakers and advocates as they engage with the numerous issues and opportunities presented by the new law.

Pages

Tools & Resources

Priority Action

The CUT Loopholes Act would put an end to the price and profit shifting that allows publicly traded companies to engage in pervasive tax avoidance.

Take Action

Consumer Alerts

Join our network and stay up to date on our campaigns, get important consumer updates, and take action on critical issues.


  

Support Us

Your donation supports TexPIRG's work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.

Donate Today