Our Mission
The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) members believe that the cost of health coverage is too high and growing too fast. CAHC promotes policies that lower health costs through increased competition, informed consumers, and more choices to help promote access to affordable coverage.
Our Principles
- Promote competitive, efficient and transparent markets.
- Expand choices for consumers and employers.
- Support value-based delivery and payment reforms.
- Support incentives for wellness and prevention.
- Promote entitlement reforms that improve long-term program stability, strong safety nets, patient choice, efficiency and value.
What We Do
We work on a number of products and services to meet the needs of our members including:
Advocacy
Create strategies and employ tactics to pen bills, modify regulations, or prevent damaging laws from being enacted.
Policy Development
Develop creative policy solutions, regulatory analyses, comment letters, and White Papers.
Visibility and Education
Host briefings and summits on major policy issues to impact national dialogue.
In the Loop Updates
Collect information and provide intelligence via weekly calls, email updates, and monthly meetings.
Successes
COBRA Subsidies
CAHC championed reinforcing job-based insurance, including enactment of a federal COBRA subsidy to those who lost their jobs during the pandemic, which was signed into law in 2021.
Value-Based Payment Arrangements
CAHC led the effort to update CMS regulations that enable VBPs in both the private and public sectors. The final rule eliminated some of the federal pricing barriers so insurers can pay for prescription drugs based on patient outcomes.
Real-Time Benefit Tools
RTBTs were one of the few drug pricing-related provisions included in the 2020 end of year omnibus. CAHC wrote and championed the policy, which will help improve transparency of prescription drug costs at the point of prescribing.
Surprise Billing
CAHC worked to lower hospital and physician costs by leading the fight against surprise billing. The bill was signed into law in 2020.
Lower Out-of-Pocket Expenses
CAHC fought to add an out-of-pocket cap in Medicare Part D, which was signed into law in 2021.
CAHC Foundation
The CAHC 501(c)(3) Foundation conducts research and examines the causes and impacts of medical cost growth, publishes papers, hosts conferences, and develops policy to address rising health costs.