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...
The Joe Pesci Option
There are many unknowns in the future of health care funding and costs given the current crisis faced by our country. With unemployment rising at an unprecedented rate and...
Data, Data, Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink
The mortality rate is 1%. The doubling time is 15 days. Today’s number of new cases is 7% lower than yesterday’s. When a statistic is cited, it’s often...