Health Insurance
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From Policy to Practice: The Breakdown of Chicago’s Hospital Price Transparency
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Imagine: After her doctor recommended a hip replacement, a 67-year-old Chicago grandmother sat down at her computer hoping to compare prices before scheduling surgery. Instead, she spent nearly an hour navigating hospital websites, clicking through estimator tools that asked for billing codes she did not recognize and insurance details she…
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The Rise in Health Insurance Prices: How Policy Can Change American Healthcare
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Experts have been warning the public about the impending increase in health insurance prices in 2025, with even sharper increases expected this year in 2026. This anticipated increase comes with a shrinkage in coverage and a strain on low-income Americans who will not be able to afford these hiking premiums.…
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Why Don’t People Search for the Cheapest Health Care?
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According to a poll conducted by Monmouth University earlier this year, the cost of healthcare is the top concern for American families. This makes sense in the context of a health system in which the proliferation of high deductible health plans—where patients pay greater amounts before their insurers start contributing—have…
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Triumphs, Challenges, and Lessons Learned from US Health Care Reform: A Rigorous Reflection by President Barack Obama
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This is the first piece celebrating the Chicago Policy Review‘s 20th Anniversary Series. Please visit us here to learn more about the series from our Executive Editors. Health care reform has arguably been the Obama administration’s most significant legislative achievement since 2008. Various authors, including some of our own at the Chicago Policy Review,…
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Hidden Costs of High-Deductible Plans
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A very large firm switched from completely subsidized insurance plans to high-deductible insurance plans, resulting in a reduction of 13 percent in total health spending. Evidence suggests that consumers are potentially reducing both wasteful and needed medical care, thus behaving counter to their financial and medical interests.
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Medicare Beneficiaries More Likely to Switch Away from Managed Care
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A new study finds that high-cost Medicare beneficiaries are more likely to switch from private Medicare Advantage plans to original Medicare plans.
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Looking at Effects of Tennessee Medicaid Contraction on Adult Hospitalizations
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A new quasi-experimental study sheds light on the mechanism through which Medicaid expansion translates into mortality reduction among newly insured populations.
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Does Medicaid coverage change the prenatal health behaviors of pregnant women?
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Research shows that expanded Medicaid coverage has counterintuitive impacts on prenatal health behaviors, hurting infants’ health.
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The Moral Hazard of Bankruptcy
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A new study finds that Americans use personal bankruptcy as a substitute for traditional health insurance, encouraged by stringent bankruptcy laws.
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Paying for Equity: Changing Pay for Performance to Reduce Disparities in Healthcare Funding
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Healthcare pay for performance programs tend to hurt providers working with disadvantaged populations. A new study proposes an alternative payment model that more equitably provides funds to providers working with these patients
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The Unseen Taxes Created by the Affordable Care Act
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A new study explains the effects on the labor supply created by the Affordable Care Act. The ACA creates a penalty on employers that incentivizes a reduction in full-time hiring, as well as creating an implicit tax on full-time employees that encourages them to work less.