New Jersey: Get Covered NJ breaks out enrollment data thru 12/05; reminds residents of additional state savings & there's still time to #GetCovered!

Last week, Get Covered New Jersey, NJ's brand-new state-based ACA exchange, reminded New Jersey residents to enroll via Open Enrollment via the #GetCovered2021 campaign. The press release also mentioned, in passing, that nearly 227,000 NJ residents have already signed up for 2021, over 20,000 of whom are new enrollees.

Today, they posted a much more detailed breakout of their enrollment data so far, as well as reminding residents that unlike most states, New Jersey's Open Enrollment Period isn't over until the end of January, although they have to enroll by December 31st for coverage starting January 1st:

• Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace operated by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, opened on Nov. 1, 2020. New Jersey’s state-based exchange was created by a law signed by Governor Murphy on June 28, 2019.

• Open Enrollment runs November 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021, more than double the six-week open enrollment period held last year under the federal government (Healthcare.gov). Residents must enroll by December 31, 2020 for coverage beginning January 1, 2021. For those who enroll in January, coverage will start on February 1, 2021.

• The Health Exchange (or “Marketplace”) is the only place where individuals can apply for financial help to reduce the cost of health insurance plans. The Marketplace provides a streamlined transfer to Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

In addition, New Jersey is also offering their own financial subsidies on top of the federal assistance for those who qualify!

• The Governor signed P.L.2020, c.61 on July 31, 2020 to create funding for state subsidies for qualified individuals to further improve affordability and demonstrate the value of operating a state Marketplace.

• As of December 5, 2020, a total of 226,727 residents are signed up for 2021 health coverage at Get Covered New Jersey, including more than 20,000 new consumers.

• New Jerseyans whose annual income is up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level ($51,040 for an individual and $104,800 for a family of four) qualify for New Jersey Health Plan Savings (NJ state subsidies) in addition to the federal Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC).

• The amount of financial help received by qualifying residents who have selected a plan during open enrollment as of December 5, 2020, is about $485 a month on average, or about $5,820 for the year.

• The financial help amount includes $556 a year in savings from the state subsidy per person, on top of the federal Advanced Premium Tax Credit.

• The current average net monthly premium for 2021, for those receiving financial help, is the lowest since the implementation of Healthcare.gov and availability of federal tax credits, at $120 per month person, down from $164 a month per person in 2020, and $148 a month in 2014.

The dashboard report later states (see below) that 178,429 of those who have enrolled are receiving the additional state subsidies. Assuming all of these folks stay enrolled for all 12 months of 2021, that would be a total of $99.2 million in additional collective savings for New Jersey enrollees.

They also break out the types of enrollments:

• Automatic Renewals: 191,610
• Active Renewals: 15,112
• New Enrollees: 20,005
• Total Enrollees: 226,727

• Enrollees transferred over to Medicaid instead: 17,164
• Enrollees transferred to ACA exchange plans from Medicaid: 3,149

They also include breakouts of all ~227K enrollees by financial assistance status and metal tier:

Financial Assistance:

• APTC, CSR & NJHPS*: 124,809 (55%)
• APTC & NJHPS: 51,081 (23%)
• NJHPS only: 2,539 (1%)
• Unsubsidized QHPs: 48,298 (21%)
• Total: 226,727 (100%)

*NJHPS = NJ Health Savings Plan (their name for the extra state subsidies). They note that the 2,539 who qualify for NJ subsidies only are those who have household incomes below 400% FPL but who don't qualify for federal APTC assistance.

Metal Tier:

• Bronze: 51,922 (23%)
• Silver: 169,750 (75%)
• Gold: 3,761 (1.5%)
• Catastrophic: 1,294 (0.5%)
• Total: 226,727 (100%)

I should also note that last year, 246,426 NJ residents enrolled in policies via HC.gov during Open Enrollment, so the new state-based exchange is already 92% of the way there less than halfway through the 2021 Open Enrollment Period. It'll be interesting to see how they perform this year given the double-length enrollment period and especially the additional state-based subsidies compared to last year.