STATE ANLAYSIS: What’s Coming In Health Care Costs And What You Can Do About It

Last week, the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) released a study that examines what health care premiums would look like if current federal policy – the Affordable Care Act – is kept in place versus what would happen under the U.S. House of Representatives’ health care plan. As a reminder, the lower chamber of Congress passed the U.S. House’s plan, called the American Health Care Act, in May. (Click here to read the Metals Service Center Institute’s analysis of that bill. The U.S. Senate is currently assembling its own health care reform bill.) 

The NASHP notes that its “estimates only consider premium costs,” and “do not incorporate any analysis of predicted out-of-pocket expenses due to cost-sharing.” That means that, while the analysis provides an interesting looking into how consumer costs may change under the House’s health care plan, it should not be taken as a comprehensive analysis of individuals’ actual health care costs. 

Interested in finding out how things might change in your state? Click here. 

MSCI also recently posted a white paper by Aon Hewitt on its website about health care. That study explores the health attitudes, motivators, and preferences of consumers across the United States, particularly employees and their dependents as they interact with their employer-sponsored health plans, wellness programs, and the broader health landscape. Along with findings about the consumer health mindset, the white paper recommends practical actions that MSCI members can take to meet consumers where they are and guide them in navigating health care more effectively.