The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires that federal and state-based marketplaces verify application information--such as citizenship or immigration status--to determine eligibility for enrollment in a health plan, potentially including a subsidy. However, there is no specific legal requirement to verify the events that trigger a Special Enrollment Period (SEP), which is a

Available survey data show that most enrollees who obtained their coverage through the health insurance exchanges were satisfied overall with their qualified health plans (QHP) during the first few years that exchanges operated, according to five national surveys of QHP enrollees that GAO identified through its literature review. Specifically, most QHP enrollees who obtained their coverage throug

Our review found articles that measured the extent of concentration in private health insurance markets or focused on the relationship between competition in these markets and other variables, though the findings of these studies should be interpreted with caution. Several articles identified through our review examined the extent of concentration in private health insurance markets, though this

HRP enrollment--enrollees and their dependents--totaled 199,418 in the 34 HRPs in 2008. We estimated nearly 4 million additional individuals to be potentially eligible for enrollment in an HRP based on their uninsured status and preexisting health conditions. In 2008, the average annual deductible for the most popular plan offered by each of the 34 HRPs was $1,593--almost three times as high as t

About 80 percent of college students aged 18 through 23 had health insurance in 2006. While 67 percent of college students were covered through employer-sponsored plans, 7 percent were covered through other private health insurance plans, such as student insurance plans, and 6 percent were covered by public programs, such as Medicaid. Most insured students were covered, for example, as a dependen

In 2006, the premium for both individual and family coverage under TRS--which DOD based on Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) premiums--exceeded the reported average cost per plan of providing TRICARE benefits through the program. TRS currently serves less than 1percent of the overall TRICARE population, and unlike most other TRICARE beneficiaries, TRS enrollees pay a premium to receive health car

Growth in FEHBP premiums recently slowed, from a peak of 12.9 percent for 2002 to 1.8 percent for 2007. Starting in 2003, FEHBP premium growth was generally slower than for other purchasers. Premium growth rates for the 10 largest FEHBP plans by enrollment--accounting for about three-quarters of total enrollment--ranged from 0 percent to 15.5 percent for 2007. Projected increases in the cost and

Growth in FEHBP premiums recently slowed, from a peak of 12.9 percent for 2002 to 1.8 percent for 2007. During this period FEHBP premium growth was generally slower than for other purchasers. Premium growth rates for the 10 largest FEHBP plans by enrollment ranged from 0 percent to 15.5 percent in 2007, while growth rates among smaller FEHBP plans varied more widely. The growth in average enrolle

GAO found that market characteristics were closely associated with price differences across metropolitan areas for the FEHBP PPOs we reviewed. Areas with the least competitive markets--that is, areas with a higher percentage of hospital beds concentrated in the two largest hospitals or hospital networks--had prices of hospital stays and physician services that were higher than areas with the most

In summary, the median number of licensed carriers in the small group market per state was 28, with a range from 3 in Rhode Island to 75 in Georgia. The median market share of the largest carrier in the small group market was about 43 percent, with a range from about 19 percent in Texas to about 93 percent in North Dakota. The five largest carriers in the small group market, when combined, repres