Frustrated over the inability of the federal government to develop and implement policies that make health insurance more affordable, a number of states are taking matters into their own hands in a variety of ways.

In 2018 and 2019 at least a dozen states enacted policies designed to make health insurance more affordable.  Among the steps they took where:

  • premium stabilization programs
  • requirements to maintain adequate coverage
  • financial assistance to improve coverage affordability
  • regulation of non-Affordable Care Act-compliance coverage
  • rules to promote marketplace competition
  • state coverage options
  • standard plan designs
  • open enrollment extensions
  • transitional policies

Learn more about what states are doing to make health insurance more affordable and whether such measures are working in the Commonwealth Fund report “States Work to Make Individual Market Health Coverage More Affordable, But Long-Term Solutions Call for Federal Leadership.”