Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Cross-Border Health Care and the Hydraulics of Health Reform

Abstract

This chapter assesses whether cross-border health insurance plans that use foreign providers could satisfy the requirement to maintain “minimum essential coverage” under the new mandate. It examines whether plans that use foreign medical providers can provide “essential health benefits” and thus meet the requirements for “qualified health plans” to participate in the new state insurance exchanges beginning in 2014. The provisions of the Affordable Care Act impact cross-border health care in profound ways. The Act lawfully needs present immigrants to maintain insurance coverage under the mandate. It prohibits insurers from rejecting customers with preexisting medical conditions, requiring “guaranteed issue.” Many provisions in the Affordable Care Act might promote cross-border plans in the exchanges. In general, the Affordable Care Act exerts its own hydraulic pressures, in the hopes of covering more patients domestically.

Publication Title

The Globalization of Health Care

Document Type

Book Chapter

Keywords

cross-border health insurance, foreign medical providers, insurance exchanges, Affordable Care Act, health care

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