Articles on Affordable Care Act (ACA)

September 18, 2024

Preventive care is free by law, but many Americans get incorrectly billed − especially if you’re poor, a person of color or don’t have a college degree

Patients often bear the cost of unexpected bills for basic preventive services such as wellness visits and cancer screenings.

September 17, 2024

Health care under Harris versus Trump: A public health historian sizes up their records

Harris and Trump have starkly contrasting records on health care. This analysis examines their differing approaches to Medicare, the ACA, drug pricing and other public health efforts.

October 27, 2023

White patients are more likely than Black patients to be given opioid medication for pain in US emergency departments

Trevor Thompson, University of Greenwich and Sofia Stathi, University of Greenwich

Undertreated pain can result in unnecessary suffering and a greater likelihood of long-term chronic pain.

April 7, 2023

Millions of Americans at risk of losing free preventive care after Texas ruling on ACA

On the basis of government appointment technicalities and religious freedom, Americans may lose free coverage for cancer and blood pressure screenings, HIV prevention medication and other essential services.

January 31, 2023

Medicaid coverage is expiring for millions of Americans – but there’s a proven way to keep many of them insured

Evidence from Massachusetts suggests that a multistep process discourages enrollment. The findings could help policymakers stave off a sharp decline in coverage when COVID-19 policies change.

January 12, 2023

Congress investigates presidents, the military, baseball and whatever it wants – a brief modern history of oversight

The House GOP has announced a slew of investigations, including a review of the conduct of the Department of Justice and its investigations of Donald Trump.

September 20, 2022

Medicaid enrollment soared by 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic – but a big decline could happen soon

Julie Donohue, University of Pittsburgh and Eric T. Roberts, University of Pittsburgh

Pandemic-related policies made it easier for states to afford to cover more people and made that coverage more stable for millions of Americans who rely on the program for health care.

September 15, 2022

In states where abortion is banned, children and families already face an uphill battle

States taking the strictest stands against abortion tend to have among the worst statistics in the nation on child and family well-being.

September 13, 2022

Free preventive care under the ACA is under threat again – a ruling exempting PrEP from insurance coverage may extend nationwide and to other health services

Judge Reed O'Connor ruled in a case that coverage for HIV prevention medicine PrEP violated the religious freedom of the plaintiffs. It is unclear whether the order will extend nationwide.

February 24, 2022

When parents get Medicaid, it can benefit the health of their kids too

Social scientists determined that body mass index growth declined for children of low-income parents in states that had expanded their Medicaid programs.

February 18, 2022

1 in 4 Americans are covered by Medicaid or CHIP – a program that insures low-income kids

Heather Bednarek, Saint Louis University and Ellen Barnidge, Saint Louis University

Most states have taken advantage of the opportunity to expand access to Medicaid since 2014 through the Affordable Care Act. That’s helping reduce the number of uninsured people.

January 27, 2022

The moderate, pragmatic legacy of Stephen Breyer

There was little controversy when President Bill Clinton nominated Stephen Breyer to the bench in 1994. His tenure on the Supreme Court reflects those less partisan times.

December 1, 2021

HIV prevention pill PrEP is now free under most insurance plans – but the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act puts this benefit at risk

World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 this year comes at a time when a key step to removing financial barriers to PrEP access in the U.S. faces legal challenges.

September 17, 2021

How to make comparing prices of an MRI or colonoscopy as easy as shopping for a new laptop

Morgan Henderson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Morgane Mouslim, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Health researchers hope a new regulation requiring hospitals to post their prices will tame soaring health care costs, but compliance and standardization are hurdles.

September 7, 2021

The next attack on the Affordable Care Act may cost you free preventive health care

The Affordable Care Act has allowed many preventive health services, including cancer screenings and vaccines, to be free of charge. But legal challenges may lead to costly repercussions for patients.

August 18, 2021

Can health insurance companies charge the unvaccinated higher premiums? What about life insurers? 5 questions answered

Two economists explain what insurers can and can’t do to factor vaccination status into their coverage and rates.

June 21, 2021

What’s next for health care reform after the Supreme Court rejects ACA’s most recent challenge

Zack Buck, University of Tennessee

May 12, 2021

How America’s partisan divide over pandemic responses played out in the states

Julie VanDusky, Boise State University and Olga Shvetsova, Binghamton University, State University of New York

April 29, 2021

State lawsuits over stimulus tax rule face uphill battle

Jonathan Entin, Case Western Reserve University

States claim the stimulus law assaults state sovereignty by barring local governments from using aid money to cut taxes. But the Supreme Court has consistently approved conditions on federal spending.

March 25, 2021

What the American Rescue Plan says about President Biden’s health care priorities – and what they mean for you

Zack Buck, University of Tennessee

Stimulus checks received a lot of attention during debates about the stimulus package, but it may be expansion of health insurance that will have the longest-lasting effect on Americans.

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Top contributors

1. Simon F. Haeder Associate Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University
2. J.B. Silvers Professor of Health Finance, Weatherhead School of Management & School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University
3. Paul Shafer Assistant Professor of Health Law, Policy and Management, Boston University
4. Darius Lakdawalla Quintiles Professor of Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California
5. Kristefer Stojanovski Research Assistant Professor of Social, Behavioral and Population Sciences, Tulane University
6. Anup Malani The Lee and Brena Freeman Professor at the University of Chicago Law School and Professor at the Pritzker School of Medicine., University of Chicago
7. Valarie Blake Associate Professor of Health Law, West Virginia University
8. Zack Buck Associate Professor of Law, University of Tennessee
9. Gerald Friedman Professor of Economics, UMass Amherst
10. Daniel Wirls Professor of Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz
11. Rachel Sachs Associate Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis
12. Diane Dewar Associate Professor of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, University at Albany, State University of New York
13. Greg Wright Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, Merced
14. Betsy Q Cliff Assistant professor of Health Policy & Administration, University of Illinois Chicago
15. John McDonough Professor of Public Health Practice, Harvard University