Charles Gaba's blog

DC Heatlh Link

via DC Health Link:

DC Residents Can Get Covered and Stayed Covered by Going to DCHealthLink.com Before the January 31, 2022 Deadline 

(Washington, DC) - As the first week of DC Health Link’s 2022 open enrollment period comes to a close, Mayor Muriel Bowser is encouraging DC residents to sign up for high-quality, affordable health insurance at DCHealthLink.com, the District’s online state-based health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Open enrollment for individuals and families runs from November 1, 2021 and continues through January 31, 2022.

“Ensuring everyone in our community is insured is a critical step in making our healthcare landscape more equitable,” said Mayor Bowser. “Keeping our community healthy means ensuring all Washingtonians are getting the right care at the right time. We never want people in our city to put off healthcare because of a lack of coverage. Now is the time to get covered and stay covered, and that process can start at DCHealthLink.com.”

Access Health CT Logo

via Access Health CT:

  • Free in-person help offered to Connecticut residents at pop-up enrollment fairs and daily on-site locations

HARTFORD, Conn. (Nov. 4, 2021)—Access Health CT (AHCT) announced today that in addition to on-site locations, it will offer three in-person enrollment fairs in Fairfield, Hartford and Waterbury during November, giving Connecticut residents more time to shop, compare and enroll in quality health insurance plans.

All in-person enrollment fairs will be held from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the following locations in Fairfield, Hartford and Waterbury.

COVID

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 2.9x higher per capita in the reddest tenth of the country than the bluest tenth, down from 3.0x higher a couple of weeks ago:

COVID-19 Vaccine

Methodology reminders:

  • I go by FULLY vaccinated residents only (defined as 2 doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).
  • I base my percentages on the total population, as opposed to adults only or those over 11 years old.
White House Logo

Last Friday I took an in-the-weeds look at the healthcare provisions of the pared-down (but still hugely significant) Build Back Better Act.

Well, as the long-gestating legislation finally heads into the endgame this week, there's been a last-minute rush to add to & change some provisions of the bill before it actually gets voted on, and earlier today, the House Rules Committee released a revised/updated version of the bill, including a handy comparison version which shows exactly what legislative language has changed since the prior version.

Many of these changes are either simple grammatical or wording tweaks to make sure it all passes legal muster, while others simply provide clarification. Other changes involve simply increasing or decreasing the amount of federal money which would be allocated to one program or another.

Maryland Health Connection

via Maryland Health Connection:

Greater savings for young adults and higher-income households are new this open enrollment

BALTIMORE — With greater savings than ever for young adults and for households previously ineligible for financial help, open enrollment for the 2022 plan year begins today at MarylandHealthConnection.gov, the state’s online health insurance marketplace.

Open enrollment runs from Nov. 1, 2021, through Jan. 15, 2022. Coverage starts Jan. 1, 2022, for plans selected before Dec. 31, and coverage starts on Feb. 1, 2022, for plans selected in the first two weeks of January. Those who qualify for Medicaid may enroll any time of year.

This year, many people can get a health plan for as little as $1 a month. Even for those who have looked before, it’s worth coming back, because there are now savings available for households at all income levels. Plus, a new Maryland law allows for adults ages 18 to 34 to get discounts on top of other savings.

Michigan

via the Michigan Dept. of Insurance & Financial Services:

(LANSING, MICH) Gov. Whitmer today announced Michiganders have more plans to choose from, more low- or no-cost coverage options, and more time to enroll during the Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment period, which runs today, November 1 through January 15, 2022.

“Michigan has called for expanded health coverage opportunities throughout the pandemic, and I applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for its continued work in lowering costs to high-quality, comprehensive health insurance for Michigan’s working families,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Through increased subsidies, an extended enrollment period, and more investment in local assistance, Michiganders have the support they need to get covered for 2022.”

Rate Changes

As I noted last night, thanks to the federal Rate Review website finally being updated to include the final, approved 2022 rates for both the individual and small group markets in all 50 states (+DC), I've been able to fill in the missing data for my annual ACA Rate Change Project.

As I note there, the overall weighted average looks like it'll be roughly +3.5% nationally.

Normally I write up a separate entry for both the preliminary and approved rate changes in each individual state, but it seems like overkill to create 14 separate entries at once. Besides, in many of these states there's been few if any changes between the preliminary and approved rate changes.

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