Impressions of the ACA: 10 Years, 30 Voices
I’m a math guy. I always have been. While I did well in most subjects in school, I excelled at math. In high school, I completed an advanced calculus course in my junior year. I had to commute to the...
The Calm Before (After) the Storm
Sitting here in early June it is hard to know what the future holds. We are about 3 months since the COVID-19 pandemic officially hit the US, we just finished 8-10 weeks of quarantine and...
The ACA Underwriting Cycle
I recently heard about a song collaboration between Ozzy Osbourne and Post Malone. I remember this only because I also heard a random but insightful observation regarding the collaboration...
Metalball: Gold < Silver ‘Gets on Base’
I haven’t been to many movies recently, but two that I have seen are Invincible and Moneyball. Observant readers will recognize each as nonfictional portrayals of sports figures with a unique story. A smaller...
Value Considerations for States: ACA Decisions Through an ROI Lens
You have seen the maps. They are pretty and color-coded. They show which states have expanded Medicaid, which operate their own exchange in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) markets, and which have...
The Game You Thought You Knew: Inside ACA Baseball
The game of baseball underwent a 21st-century change when advanced analytical computations changed the way players were valued. Important measures in the individual health insurance market went...
Meaningful Field Measures: Counting What Matters in ACA Markets
When a colleague and I wrote Fields of Gold in April last year, the imagery seemed perfect. The Gold Rush of 1849 led many prospectors to California; the “Golden State” has also been the most visible to...
Focused ACA Rate Review: Tangible Ways for States to Address Metalball
Rate review in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) markets was built on traditional measures. A large focus of the initial federal guidance was greater scrutiny on proposed increases of 10% or more. The holistic...
Erasing ACA Rate Review Vanity: It’s About What You Do, Not How You Look
What do you want to accomplish through rate review? It’s a question that state regulators should ask themselves. The question is threatening, because the answer may expose that what is...
COVID-19 Death Dynamics
As states have begun to relax social distancing measures, some feel a sense of optimism. People here in California are going to beaches and restaurants (although those activities generally...