The March 2012 issue of Health Affairs discusses the complexity underlying the potential impact of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). The program provides small businesses with more choices for health care coverage, but does not address the major concern of most companies – cost. Articles in this issue, produced with the support of The Commonwealth Fund, provide interesting insight into the challenges that policymakers face to make health care more affordable for small business owners and their employees. The new small business exchanges will need to be able to provide cheaper coverage than those currently available in the market. States can allow companies with more than 100 workers to purchase coverage through SHOP exchanges, starting in 2017, which could result in employers encouraging workers to exchanges and to receive individual coverage. With the release of this issue, Health Affairs provides different perspectives into the impact of the Small Business Health Options Program and its potential impact in this partisan political climate. The following AcademyHealth members had their work featured in the February 2012 issue: ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: Employers And The Exchanges Under The Small Business Health Options Program: Examining The Potential And The Pitfalls Timothy S. Jost How Choices In Exchange Design For States Could Affect Insurance Premiums And Levels Of Coverage Fredric Blavin, John Holahan, and Stacey McMorrow ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: Large Employers See Scenarios Under Which They Could Move Workers And Retirees To Exchanges William E. Kramer Adjusting For Risk Selection In State Health Insurance Exchanges Will Be Critically Important And Feasible, But Not Easy Jonathan P. Weiner, Erin Trish, and Klaus Lemke ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: Regulating Stop-Loss Coverage May Be Needed To Deter Self- Insuring Small Employers From Undermining Market Reforms Mark A. Hall Lessons For Coverage Expansion: A Virginia Primary Care Program For The Uninsured Reduced Utilization And Cut Costs Cathy J. Bradley, and Sheldon M. Retchin Two Responses To A Premium Hike In A Program For Uninsured Kids: 4 In 5 Families Stay In As Enrollment Shrinks By A Fifth Michael R. Cousineau ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: Seizing Opportunities Under The Affordable Care Act For Transforming The Mental And Behavioral Health System David Mechanic Survey Shows That At Least Some Physicians Are Not Always Open Or Honest With Patients Lisa I. Iezzoni, Catherine M. DesRoches, Christine Vogeli, and Eric G. Campbell Inviting Consumers To Downsize Fast-Food Portions Significantly Reduces Calorie Consumption Brian Elbel The Financial Burden From Prescription Drugs Has Declined Recently For The Nonelderly, Although It Is Still High For Many Walid F. Gellad Early Results From Adoption Of Bundled Payment For Diabetes Care In The Netherlands Show Improvement In Care Coordination Hubertus J.M. Vrijhoef, New Federal Policy Initiatives To Boost Health Literacy Can Help The Nation Move Beyond The Cycle Of Costly ‘Crisis Care’ Carolyn M. Clancy, Cindy Brach Massachusetts Health Reforms: Uninsurance Remains Low, Self-Reported Health Status Improves As State Prepares To Tackle Costs Sharon K. Long and Heather Dahlen Off-Label Drug Use: The Authors Reply Aaron S. Kesselheim Health Affairs is an official partner journal of AcademyHealth.