2012

Creating Consumer-Friendly Wellness Programs to Promote Healthy Lifestyles

Wellness programs can be a powerful tool to help individuals improve their health and reduce their risk of developing chronic conditions. These programs encourage people to adopt healthy behaviors, li...

When a Health Insurer Leaves the Individual Market: What States Can Do before Certain Affordable Care Act Changes Take Effect in 2014

Before the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect in 2014, consumers who buy health insurance on their own are at risk of losing their coverage if a health insurer decides to stop selling individua...

Decoding Your Health Insurance: The New Summary of Benefits and Coverage

Consumers need clear information on their health insurance, but what insurance companies provide is often hard to understand. The Affordable Care Act now requires insurers to give consumers concise, s...

Good Business Sense: The Small Business Tax Credit in the Affordable Care Act

Small businesses are less likely than big business to offer health insurance to their workers. To help fix this problem, the Affordable Care Act offers a new tax credit to small business owners who pr...

A Nation in Need of Dental Care

The Affordable Care Act will expand access to dental coverage, especially for children. This fact sheet explains why advocates who are helping implement the health care law in their states should incl...

Emphasizing Preventive Care and Wellness in Medicare

Medicare now provides more preventive and wellness care benefits, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. These benefits mark a milestone in Medicare's efforts to keep beneficiaries healthy, rather than ju...

Implementing Accountable Care Organizations

Accountable Care Organizations are groups of health care providers that agree to be held accountable for improving patient health while lowering health care costs. Providers in ACOs have financial inc...

Protecting Health Care Programs from Spending Cuts

Many government leaders have proposed cutting health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid to reduce federal spending. However, cutting these programs would hurt both American families and the e...

Interactive Health Care Conference Calls Changing Lives, Engaging Thousands

This post was originally featured on the HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships blog: For people like Sam, the HHS Partnership Center's conference calls on the health care refor...

The Consequences of Inaction: Why Consumer Assistance Programs Need Support Now

Where do you go when you need help fighting a denied insurance claim, filling out an insurance application, or even just finding affordable insurance? State consumer assistance programs help the publi...