IRA EXTENDS ENHANCED ACA SUBSIDIES
Throughout the summer, we are publishing the NDNRC Update on a biweekly basis.
On Tuesday, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. This new law has many healthcare provisions including an extension of the enhanced premium tax credits for plans on the ACA Marketplace which were set to expire at the end of this year. To read more about this provision, check out our news item. To learn more about this provision and its implications for the coming open enrollment period, check out the blog post by Health Affairs.
There were several healthcare provisions in the IRA and several agencies/organizations have posted summaries of what else is included (and not included) in this new law. To learn more, check out these links:
- CMS: Statements by CMS Leadership on President Biden Signing Inflation Reduction Act into Law
- Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities: CCD Statement
- Community Catalyst: Press Release
- Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms: Blog Post
- National Health Council: Statement
As part of our partnership with Community Catalyst, we have a project which highlights opportunities for people with disabilities to get access to health coverage through Medicaid or the ACA marketplace. As part of this project, they have graphics like the one below which highlight the availability of financial assistance. These graphics are available in the Community Catalyst Outreach Hub.
The enhanced premium subsidies which were extended by the IRA should help maintain the coverage gains which have been made as the uninsured rate recently fell to the historic low of 8%. To read more about this, check out the statement from the White House.
In previous newsletters, we highlighted a series of interviews we conducted with AAHD board members to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July. These interviews can be found on both our Facebook page and YouTube channel. Direct links to all three interviews are as follows:
- July 13: Michael Hoenig
- July 20: Lisa Iezzoni
- July 28: Amy Houtrow
Recently, we posted a recap of this entire interview series and what we did to celebrate Disability Pride Month throughout July.
In prior newsletters, we have referenced what the end of the public health emergency means for Medicaid enrollees. The Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms has a new blog post which looks at what states need to consider as they transition people from Medicaid to marketplace coverage.
Our partners at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently released a FAQ sheet on the ending of the public health emergency and the unwinding of the continuous coverage requirement under Medicaid.
If you want more information on the ending of the public health emergency and Medicaid unwinding, CMS has a resource page available on Medicaid.gov which includes a lot of information for how the unwinding of the continuous coverage under Medicaid will occur. This includes a communications toolkit which is available in both English and Spanish.
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.