Levy's work cited in NYT piece on ACA's 'essential benefits' requirement

December 9, 2014

Helen Levy’s analysis of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) implementation of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was referenced in a New York Times Upshot article, “Health Care Law Is Not One-Size-Fits-All, and Here’s Why.” In the article, published Dec. 8, author Austin Frakt examines the implementation and impact of the healthcare law’s essential benefits requirement.

Levy’s analysis, “Essential Health Benefits and the Affordable Care Act,” co-authored with University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley, explored DHHS’s decision to allow states to define essential benefits for themselves. It was originally published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law (JHPPL) in December 2013.

“The Upshot” is a New York Times website devoted to policy, politics, and economics.

Helen Levy is a research associate professor at the Ford School of Public Policy. Her current research focuses on the causes and consequences of lacking health insurance, evaluation of public health insurance programs, and the role of health literacy in explaining disparities in health outcomes. She is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and served as a senior economist with the President's Council of Economic Advisers in 2010-11.