The Trump administration is considering cutting funding for ObamaCare outreach groups that help people enroll in coverage, sources say.
An initial proposal by the administration would have cut the funding for the groups, known as "navigators," from $36 million last year to $10 million this year. Sources say that proposal now could be walked back, and it is possible funding could remain the same as last year, but it is unclear where the final number will end up.
...Officials announced it would cut funding from $63 million down to $36 million in August 2017, a move that was decried by Democrats.
Press Release: NY State of Health Announces Enrollment Continues to Climb as Coverage Deadline Approaches
ALBANY, N.Y. (December 14, 2021) - NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced as the December 15 deadline nears, enrollment in Qualified Health Plans is increasing at a steady clip. To date, more than 180,000 New Yorkers have enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan since the start of the Open Enrollment Period on November 16, 2021. Consumers must enroll by December 15, 2021 for health coverage beginning January 1, 2022.
I've included two of the key slides below, but there's a bunch of other demographic breakout stuff at the link above...financial assistance breakout, metal tiers, net premium data, etc.
The main number: As of 12/15/21, 357,212 PA residents had selected (or been auto-renewed into) 2022 Qualified Health Plans (QHPs). This is up 11.7% vs. the same point last year.
MNsure Reports Record Sign-ups Since Open Enrollment’s Start
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Today, MNsure reports that over 125,500 Minnesotans have signed up for comprehensive, affordable private health coverage through the state’s health insurance marketplace since the start of the current open enrollment period on November 1.
Minnesota’s open enrollment period runs through January 15, 2022. Consumers who select plans by January 15 will have coverage starting February 1, 2022.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight the importance of comprehensive health insurance for families and individuals across the state,” said MNsure CEO Nate Clark. “We’re pleased that thousands of Minnesotans are using MNsure to sign up for coverage that gives them access to essential benefits like preventive and emergency care, which can protect them from potentially high, unexpected medical costs.”
Washington Healthplanfinder Sees Surge in Customers as Final 2022 Deadline Approaches
Select a plan by Jan. 15 for coverage that begins Feb. 1
Thousands of Washingtonians signed up for health coverage over the past week on Washington Healthplanfinder to beat the Dec. 15 deadline for coverage that will begin Jan. 1. With that date now passed, individuals still seeking 2022 health coverage have until Jan. 15, 2022 to shop on Washington Healthplanfinder for coverage that begins Feb. 1.
“We were glad to see a record number of enrollees secure coverage that starts Jan. 1,” said Chief Executive Officer Pam MacEwan. “And we want to encourage customers who still have not signed up to do so before Jan. 15. It’s especially important this year because there are so many opportunities for savings.”
Instead of looking at the cumulative county-level COVID death rates by 2020 partisan lean since the Delta Variant wave hit the United States in June, the graphs below look at how that has played out for each individual month since then.
The data does not include the U.S. territories (since they don't vote in the November Presidential election), and it's also missing around 4% of total COVID deaths across the 50 states + DC due to their county of residence being unknown.
With that in mind, here's what the Delta wave has looked like in June, July, August, September, October, November and the first 2 weeks of December 2021:
BeWellnm is excited to provide the Open Enrollment report through Week five. The report overview includes, but is not limited to plan selections, customer engagement center volume and website traffic.
Approximately 39,200 New Mexicans have a plan selection. In an effort to ensure the accuracy of all numbers, new consumers and re- enrollees are not being reported on this week. A return of these fields is anticipated soon.
As a reminder, passive enrollees were handled earlier for this year to support the transition from Healthcare.gov to New Mexico’s solution. This offers additional time for payment to ensure that New Mexicans who have a plan stay covered. Individuals can still shop, compare, and change their plan until January 15th, 2022.
Final numbers, where accounts have been reviewed for errors or duplication, will be reported at the appropriate time after Open Enrollment.
I go by county residents who have received the 2nd COVID-19 shot only (or 1st in the case of the J&J vaccine). Data for 3rd/booster shots aren't available at the county level in most states yet.
I base my percentages on the total population, as opposed to adults only or those over 11 years old (or even over 4 years old).
For most states + DC I use the daily data from the Centers for Disease Control, but there are some where the CDC is either missing county-level data entirely or where the CDC data is less than 90% complete at the county level. Therefore:
For Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, and Texas, I'm using their COVID vaccine dashboards set up by the state health departments.
For California, I'm using the CDC data for most counties and the state health dept. dashboard data for the 8 small counties which the CDC isn't allowed to post data for.
Here's the weekly look at the rate of COVID-19 cases & deaths at the county level since the end of June, broken out by partisan lean (i.e, what percent of the vote Donald Trump received in 2020).
The ratio of case rates has started to drop; new cases are now running 2.59x higher per capita in the reddest tenth of the country than the bluest tenth, down from 3.0x higher seven weeks ago:
