Completed applications/redeterminations processed through the integrated eligibility system: 18,856
I'm not entirely sure what the 18,856 figure refers to, but I've confirmed that it's already included in the larger number.
Last year's final OEP enrollment tally for Connecticut was 104,946 QHP selections, which they're now 1.4% ahead of...with over 2 weeks left for CT residents to get covered (they have until New Year's Eve to enroll for coverage starting January 1st, and from January 1st - January 15th for coverage starting February 1st).
UPDATE: Quite a few people are telling me that I'm being too conservative in my assumptions below, and they make a very good case based on the anti-mask and anti-vaxx mindset among Republicans, Trump voters tendency to be older than Biden voters and so forth. I AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS. I'm still trying to be as cautious/conservative as possible, however, because this is a very ugly & touchy subject and because there are still a lot of unknowns.
As I note below, even in a heavily Trump-leaning county, the bulk of the COVID deaths could be among Biden voters. It's not likely but it's possible and I'm trying to keep that in mind here.
Certified Enrollment Assistors Will Be On-site at Select Farmers Markets During 2022 Open Enrollment Period
Expanded financial help available for 2022 health plans
ALBANY, N.Y. (December 27, 2021) – NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced it is once again partnering with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets in an effort to educate shoppers at farmers markets throughout New York State about low-cost, high quality health coverage during the 2022 Open Enrollment Period. Certified Enrollment Assistors will be on-site at various markets from January 1 through January 31, 2022.
Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) reports that as of Dec. 24, over 230,000 customers have signed up for health coverage for 2022, an increase of 7% over last year. That number includes nearly 30,000 new customers who have signed up so far this year. Washingtonians still looking for 2022 coverage have until the final open enrollment deadline of Jan. 15 to sign up through Washington Healthplanfinder, the online marketplace operated by the Exchange.
Not only is 230K up 7% over the same point last year, it's already up 3.3% over last year's final OEP enrollment total (222,731 QHP selections). They'll have to add at least 13,300 more between now and January 15th in order to beat the state's all-time record set in 2018, however.
The Affordable Care Act includes a long list of codified instructions about what's required under the law. However, like any major piece of legislation, many of the specific details are left up to the agency responsible for implementing the law.
While the PPACA is itself a lengthy document, it would have to be several times longer yet in order to cover every conceivable detail involved in operating the ACA exchanges, Medicaid expansion and so forth. The major provisions of the ACA fall under the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), and within that, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS)
Every year, CMS issues a long, wonky document called the Notice of Benefit & Payment Parameters (NBPP) for the Affordable Care Act. This is basically a list of proposed tweaks to some of the specifics of how the ACA is actually implemented.
NOTE: See important updates towards the bottom, including age-adjusted versions of both the monthly & cumulative graphs.
Back in August, a very smart & savvy Twitter friend of mine who goes by the name of Propane Jane started a thread about the racial (and racist) aspects of the COVID pandemic response, both in terms of infection, death & vaccination rates as well as other societal policies like in-person schools, mask mandates and so forth. It's a great thread and I highly recommend reading the whole thing, which starts here.
Covered California’s first open-enrollment deadline is this week: People need to sign up by Dec. 31 in order to have their coverage start on Jan. 1.
The deadline comes as the omicron variant is spreading across California, with the average cost of COVID-related hospitalizations and ICU care at $127,000, underscoring the importance of having insurance to avoid medical debt.
Having health care coverage, staying COVID-safe and getting vaccines and booster shots are critical to protecting your health and the health of your family and community.
An estimated 1.1 million Californians are uninsured and eligible for financial help from Covered California or Medi-Cal, and the majority could get comprehensive coverage at no cost.
Idaho is unique among the 50 U.S. states + DC this year in that it's the only one whose ACA exchange ended their 2022 Open Enrollment Period (OEP) before the official January 15th final deadline set by the Biden Administration.
Your Health Idaho was originally going to stick with December 15th as their final Open Enrollment deadline (most states made 12/15 the deadline for January coverage, but are giving residents until 1/15 to enroll for coverage starting in February). They ended up extending that deadline out until December 22nd in the end, but that's it--going forward, Idahoans will only be eligible for ACA coverage if they become eligible thanks to a Qualifying Life Event (QLE) such as losing their existing coverage, moving to a different rating area, turning 26 and so on.
In any event, even without the January final deadline, YHI still managed to beat last year's enrollment numbers by 6.6%:
Here are the OE 2022 numbers with year over year change included (the YoY is Dec. 22, 2021 vs Dec. 31, 2020).
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 partisan ratio of case rates are now only running 2.0x higher per capita in the reddest tenth of the country than the bluest tenth, down from 3.0x higher in late October and from 2.4x higher just a week ago:
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 via the 2020 U.S. Census 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:
NOTE: There's several counties in Virginia where I'm using the official state health department dashboard instead this week specifically due to some weirdness in the COVID Act Now data. If these issues continue I may have to switch to the state dashboard for all counties for VA going forward, which would be a royal pain given the inability to export every county at once.
Completed applications/redeterminations processed through the integrated eligibility system: 17,280
I'm not entirely sure what the 12,907 figure refers to, but I've confirmed that it's already included in the larger number.
Last year's final OEP enrollment tally for Connecticut was 104,946 QHP selections, which they just surpassed...with over 3 weeks left for CT residents to get covered (they have until New Year's Eve to enroll for coverage starting January 1st, and from January 1st - January 15th for coverage starting February 1st).
BeWellnm Health Insurance Enrollment Deadline Extended
New Mexicans Have Until December 31, 2021 to Enroll in Comprehensive and Affordable Health Care Coverage Beginning January 1, 2022
Albuquerque, N.M. (December 23, 2021) – Beginning today, beWellnm, the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange, is extending its enrollment period and premium payments for effective coverage beginning January 1, 2022. New Mexicans now have until December 31, 2021 to enroll and pay their premium to receive coverage for Plan Year 2022 starting the first of the year. New Mexico residents who would prefer to have effective coverage beginning February 1, 2022 still have until January 15, 2022 to enroll.
That would put the national final QHP total at somewhere between 12.9 - 13.2 million people nationally as of January 31st, 2022; call it around 13.1 million.
...I completely forgot to mention BASIC HEALTH PLAN (BHP) enrollment in New York and Minnesota. It totalled 975,337 people during the 2021 OEP (883,451 in New York, 91,886 in Minnesota)...I'm willing to bet total BHP enrollment across both states will end up perhaps 10% higher year over year, which would put it at around 1.1 million.
When you add that to my QHP projection above, you get a grand total of perhaps 14.1 million QHPs + BHPs combined.
If this projection had proven accurate, it would have meant total ACA exchange enrollment was up ~9 - 10% year over year, which would have been impressive but not stellar.
In week 6 of the 2022 Open Enrollment Period, approximately 5.8 million people selected individual market plans or were automatically re-enrolled in a plan through the 33 states that use the HealthCare.gov platform. During the Open Enrollment Period, to date, approximately 9.7 million people have selected individual market plans or were automatically re-enrolled in a plan through HealthCare.gov. While past snapshots this year have measured enrollment weeks Sunday through Saturday, this week’s snapshot for week six also includes the final few days prior to the deadline for January 1 coverage.
MARYLANDERS HAVE JUST 10 DAYS TO GET HEALTH COVERAGE STARTING JAN. 1
Shop and enroll in a health plan for coverage in January
(BALTIMORE) — Marylanders have two weeks left to enroll in health coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2022 on the state’s health insurance marketplace, Maryland Health Connection.
This year, open enrollment through Maryland Health Connection runs a month longer than in recent years. Maryland residents can enroll in a private health insurance plan until Jan. 15, 2022. Those who enroll by Dec. 31, 2021, will have coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2022. Anyone who enrolls during the first two weeks of January will have coverage beginning Feb. 1, 2022.
“New federal and state laws offer financial help for those who did not qualify in the past,” said Michele Eberle, executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. “More than three-quarters of those who already have enrolled qualified for savings on their 2022 plans.”
Final Deadline for Health Insurance in Idaho is December 22
Final Deadline for Health Insurance in Idaho is December 22
Final days for Idahoans to apply for 2022 coverage
BOISE, Idaho – Idahoans looking to find 2022 health insurance coverage still have a few days left to enroll through the state health insurance exchange, Your Health Idaho. Idahoans who do not have benefits through their employer and are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare can enroll in private coverage through the exchange.
After extending the original deadline from Dec. 15, exchange officials are urging Idahoans to apply for the monthly health insurance tax credit and make their final plan selection by 11:59 p.m. (MT) on Wednesday, Dec. 22.
Your Health Idaho extended the original deadline by one week, citing increased demand and longer processing times due to staffing challenges.
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 via the 2020 U.S. Census 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, Georgiaand 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 partisan ratio of case rates are now running 2.4x higher per capita in the reddest tenth of the country than the bluest tenth, down from 3.0x higher in late October:
NJDOBI Announces More Than 285K Signed Up for Health Insurance through Get Covered New Jersey, As Consumers Take Advantage of Record Levels of Financial Help
Total signups up over 25 percent, with an additional 60k plan selections compared to this time last year
Two weeks before critical deadline to enroll in coverage starting January 1st
TRENTON — Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride today announced that more than 285,000 New Jerseyans are signed up for a 2022 health insurance plan through Get Covered New Jersey so far during the three-month Open Enrollment Period that started November 1st, as consumers take advantage of record levels of financial help available through the American Rescue Plan and increased and expanded state subsidies. Total signups are up over 25 percent, with an additional 60,000 health plan selections compared to this time last year.
Ever since the ACA went into effect in 2011 (3 years before newly-sold policies had to be ACA compliant), to help reduce price gouging, insurance carriers have been required to spend a minimum of 80% of their premium revenue (85% for the large group market) on actual medical claims.
Put another way, their gross margins are limited to no more than 20% (or 15% in the large group market). Remember, that's their gross margin, not net; all operational expenses must come out of that 20% (15%). The idea is that they should be spending as much of your premium dollars as possible on actual healthcare, as opposed to junkets to Tahiti or marble staircases in the corporate offices, etc. Anything over that 20% (15%) gross margin has to be rebated to the policyholder.
Stats as of December 17, 2021 (Updated every Friday during Open Enrollment)
Qualified Health Plans (QHP):
QHP Enrollment In 2022 Coverage: 104,085
2022 OE Acquisition Summary: 11,961
Medicaid:
Completed applications/redeterminations processed through the integrated eligibility system: 15,854
I'm not entirely sure what the 11,961 figure refers to. I think it's already counted as part of the 104,085 figure, but I could be wrong.
Last year's final OEP enrollment tally for Connecticut was 104,946 QHP selections, which they've come within 1% of breaking with a full month left to go.
Due to the December 11th natural disaster throughout the Commonwealth and reports of technical issues during Open Enrollment, a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for kynect health coverage is now available to impacted residents.
A Special Enrollment Period allows enrollment dates to be extended or added. Prior to this Special Enrollment Period announcement, the deadline to enroll for a Qualified Health Plan with coverage starting January 1st, 2022 was December 15th, 2021.
The Special Enrollment Period will be granted for citizens with the following circumstances:
Any person who attests that their ability to enroll in a Qualified Health Plan was affected by severe weather in December 2021.
Any person who attests that they encountered system errors, including long wait times with the call center, that prevented them from enrolling in a Qualified Health Plan prior to December 15th, 2021.
CoverME.gov Open Enrollment Update: November 1- December 11
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace (OHIM) today released an update on plan selections through CoverME.gov, Maine’s new Health Insurance Marketplace.
OHIM will continue to post updates every two weeks throughout open enrollment, which began on November 1, 2021 and ends on January 15, 2022.
Since the start of open enrollment through December 11 on CoverME.gov:
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:
Connecticut residents can work one-on-one with enrollment specialists to help them shop, compare and enroll in quality health insurance
HARTFORD, Conn. (Dec. 13, 2021) — Access Health CT(AHCT) today announced it will host two enrollment fairs in January to help Connecticut residents get free, in-person help to shop, compare and enroll in quality health insurance plans. Enrollment fairs are one-day events in addition to Access Health CT’s five other enrollment locations and Navigator partner locations where Connecticut residents can find free, in-person help until Open Enrollment ends Jan. 15, 2022.
Both in-person enrollment fairs will be held from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the following locations:
While the final Open Enrollment Period (OEP) deadline for 2022 healthcare coverage has been extended back out until January 15th in every other state, there's one exception. Your Health Idaho, the Gem State's ACA exchange, chose to defy the other 49 states + DC by keeping the same OEP deadline which has been the norm for the past few years.
In most states, you still have to enroll by December 15th if you want your 2022 policy coverage to start on January 1st...but if you miss the first deadline, you still have until January 15th to enroll for coverage starting February 1st. Idaho, however, decided to stick with December 15th as their final enrollment deadline; anyone who misses that cut-off is out of luck for the rest of the year unless they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period due to a qualifying life experience.
This is a very minor update, but since there was such a massive enrollment data dump this morning for every state (including Connecticut), I figured I should be as comprehensive as possible.
In this morning's CMS report, the put Connecticut's Qualifed Health Plan (QHP) selection total at 93,060 as of November 27th (75,197 auto-renewals plus 17,863 active renewals/new enrollments).
This open enrollment period has seen a record number of Washingtonians sign up for health care coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder, the state’s online health insurance marketplace. Currently, more than 217,000 customers have selected a new plan or reenrolled in their existing coverage for 2022. Individuals seeking coverage that will start on Jan. 1, 2022 have until Dec. 15 to enroll.
This is up slightly from the 212,815 QHPs reported in Washington State as of 11/27 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this morning, which makes sense since the 217K figure presumably runs through 12/08.
So, in addition to their standard Weekly Snapshot Report, CMS issued a more comprehensive mid-OEP (Open Enrollment Period) press release this morning which not only finally breaks out the HealthCare.Gov enrollment data by state, but also includes partial 2022 OEP data for the 18 state-based ACA marketplaces (SBM).Each press release has some unique information, while some of it is duplicated, so this post sort of merges the two together, along with some additional analysis by myself.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that nearly 4.6 million Americans have signed up for 2022 individual market health insurance coverage through the Marketplaces since the start of the 2022 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period (OEP) on November 1. This includes 3.9 million plan selections in the 33 states using the HealthCare.gov for the 2022 plan year, through December 4, 2021 (Week 5), and 625,000 plan selections in the 17 states and the District of Columbia with State-based Marketplaces (SBMs) that are using their own eligibility and enrollment platforms, through November 27, 2021 (Week 4). Total nationwide plan selections include 923,000 consumers (20% of total) who are new to the Marketplaces for 2022, and 3.6 million consumers (80% of total) who have active 2021 coverage and returned to their respective Marketplaces to renew or select a new plan for 2022.
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Minnesotans looking for private health insurance coverage starting January 1, 2022, have one week left to enroll through MNsure, Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace.
If you’re currently uninsured, self-employed, or lack access to coverage through your employer, now is the time to visit MNsure.org and check your options. More than 170 health and dental plans are available for 2022 through MNsure, and every county in Minnesota has at least 19 separate health insurance plan options to choose from.
MNsure is your one-stop shop for finding the right health coverage that fits your needs, and it’s the only place where you can access benefits that can save you money. “Don’t assume you earn too much money to qualify for tax credits that lower the cost of your monthly premiums,” said MNsure CEO Nate Clark. “Federal assistance has expanded the benefits available through MNsure and more Minnesotans are eligible for savings in 2022 than ever before."
With the first official 2022 ACA Open Enrollment Period deadline approaching on December 15th, I've decided to something special this Sunday, December 12th: I'll be holding a Zoom "ACA 101" webinar at 6:00pm Eastern to go over the basics of the ACA along with answering questions about the ongoing Open Enrollment Period.
I'll spend around half an hour or so going over the history and basics of the ACA (including some of its major benefits as well as some of its shortcomings), plus the important improvements brought to the Affordable Care Act for 2022 thanks to the American Rescue Plan.
The rest of the time will be for Q&A and general discussion of how to take full advantage of getting the best possible value.
The virtual tour will reach into media markets across California to promote open enrollment and the increased financial help that is now available, which is lowering the cost of coverage for more people than ever before.
An estimated 1.1 million Californians are uninsured and eligible for financial help, including 83,000 in San Diego County, with the vast majority able to get coverage at no cost through either Covered California or Medi-Cal.
New data from Covered California shows how much protection and peace of mind insurance provides, with the uninsured facing staggering out-of-pocket costs if they visit an emergency room or are admitted into a hospital.
People who want their coverage to start on Jan. 1, 2022, must sign up by Dec. 31, 2021. Covered California’s open-enrollment period runs through Jan. 31, 2022.
Consumers Must Renew or Enroll by December 15 for January 1 Coverage
Expanded Tax Credits and Financial Assistance Available for 2022 Plans
Customer Service Hours Extended to Help New Yorkers Enroll
ALBANY, N.Y. (December 7, 2021) - NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced that the deadline is fast approaching for New Yorkers who want coverage in a Qualified Health Plan (QHP) by the start of the 2022 New Year. Consumers must renew or enroll in a health plan through NY State of Health by December 15, 2021, for coverage starting January 1, 2022. The Open Enrollment Period for QHPs started November 16 and will run until January 31, 2022.
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 (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 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 2.67x higher per capita in the reddest tenth of the country than the bluest tenth, down from 3.0x higher six weeks ago:
Connecticut residents can work one-on-one with enrollment specialists to help them shop, compare and enroll in quality health insurance
HARTFORD, Conn. (Dec. 3, 2021)—Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced it will host three enrollment fairs in December to help Connecticut residents get free, in-person help to shop, compare and enroll in quality health insurance plans. Enrollment fairs are one-day events in addition to Access Health CT’s five other enrollment locations and Navigator partner locations where Connecticut residents can find free, in-person help now and until Open Enrollment ends Jan. 15, 2022.
All in-person enrollment fairs will be held from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the following locations:
DENVER- December 8, 2021, is Get Covered Colorado Day. The day of action is to encourage as many Coloradans as possible to enroll in 2022 health coverage during the annual Open Enrollment Period. Open Enrollment is the time of year to renew your health plan, change plans or sign up for a plan if you’re uninsured. This year, more residents shopping through Colorado’s health insurance exchange, Connect for Health Colorado, can expect increased plan choice and even more health insurance savings.
“Ensuring every Coloradan has access to high-quality, affordable health care has been a primary focus of our Administration since day one,” said Lt. Governor and Director of the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care Dianne Primavera. “Get Covered Colorado Day is the perfect opportunity for uninsured Coloradans to sign up, or to remind friends and family that they can save money on their health care by shopping for plans on Connect for Health Colorado.”
Yesterday there was a bit of a brouhaha caused when NPR reporters Geoff Brumfiel and Daniel Wood published an in-depth report on the partisan divide when it comes to county-level COVID-19 vaccination and death rates, which was heavily influenced by my own work over the past seven months, including two hour-long interviews in which we went into in-depth discussions of data sources, methodology and conclusions.
The controversial aspect was due to the fact that their published piece originally failed to mention my involvement or assistance in any way whatsoever.
After being called out on this by myself and others, Brumfiel called me to personally apologize and rectify the situation. To his credit, he took full responsibility and specifically noted that his colleague, Daniel Wood, had nothing to do with the oversight. Also to his credit, he arranged for the NPR story to be quickly updated to mention my assistance by name as well as to link to one of my own related COVID data analysis posts:
Pro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death rates. Misinformation is to blame
by Daniel Wood, Geoff Brumfiel
Since May 2021, people living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump during the last presidential election have been nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as those who live in areas that went for now-President Biden. That's according to a new analysis by NPR that examines how political polarization and misinformation are driving a significant share of the deaths in the pandemic.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace (OHIM) today released an update on plan selections through CoverME.gov, Maine’s new Health Insurance Marketplace.
OHIM provided the first update on November 18 and will continue updates every two weeks throughout open enrollment, which began on November 1, 2021 and ends on January 15, 2022.
Since the start of open enrollment through November 27 on CoverME.gov:
In week four of the 2022 Open Enrollment Period, over 37,000 New Mexicans have an active plan selection. This includes 4,698 existing enrollees who chose a new plan or actively chose to keep their current plan, 2,505 new consumers, and 30,509 passive re-enrollees. There were also 8,061 dental plan selections. Consistent with CMS, enrollment weeks are measured Sunday through Saturday.
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.
The headline choice in this Nevada Health Link press release confused me a bit at first when I saw the larger number later on, but I sorted it out:
Nevada Health Link Enrolls 17,452 Nevadans in First Month of Open Enrollment Period
CARSON CITY, NV) – Nearly 17,452 Nevadans have actively enrolled in qualified health insurance plans within the first 30 days of open enrollment through Nevada Health Link. The Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange), Nevada’s state agency that helps individuals get connected to affordable health and dental coverage, began on November 1, 2021 and runs through January 15, 2022.
The key phrasing here is "actively enrolled." The 17,452 figure only includes new enrollees or current enrollees who have actively logged into their account and selected a new plan (or renewed their existing one) for 2022. It doesn't include current enrollees who have been auto-renewed.
Certified Enrollment Assistors will be On Site at Libraries Across NYC to Help New Yorkers Enroll in Quality, Affordable Health Coverage
ALBANY, N.Y. (December 02, 2021) – NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced that NY State of Health Certified Enrollment Assistors will be available at NY Public Libraries across New York City to educate New Yorkers about enrolling in quality, affordable health coverage. Certified Enrollment Assistors can provide in person assistance at more than 10 libraries throughout December and January to answer questions, make appointments and help with enrollment. Details are available here.
Maine DHHS Releases First CoverME.gov Open Enrollment Snapshot
AUGUSTA— The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace (OHIM) announced today that 8,278 Mainers have selected plans for affordable health coverage in 2022 through CoverME.gov, Maine’s new Health Insurance Marketplace, during the first two weeks of Open Enrollment from November 1-13. This includes 862 new and 7,416 returning consumers.
At CoverME.gov, Maine people can compare plans, apply for financial assistance, and enroll in a 2022 health plan.
In week four of the 2022 Open Enrollment Period, approximately 569,000 people selected individual market plans through the 33 states that use the HealthCare.gov platform. During the Open Enrollment Period, to date, approximately 3,004,000 people have selected individual market plans on HealthCare.gov. As in past years, enrollment weeks are measured Sunday through Saturday.
The final number of plan selections associated with enrollment activity during a reporting period may change due to plan modifications or cancellations. In addition, the weekly snapshot only reports new plan selections and active plan renewals and does not report the number of consumers who have paid premiums to effectuate their enrollment.
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 2.71x higher per capita in the reddest tenth of the country than the bluest tenth, down from 3.0x higher five weeks ago:
DISCLAIMER: HealthSherpa is one of the Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) ACA brokers which run banner ads on my site. EDEs are basically authorized private, 3rd-party versions of ACA exchange sites which have their back ends integrated directly into the federal exchange (HealthCare.Gov) (W3LL and Stride Health are the other EDEs which advertises here).
Having said that, I believe Sherpa is the largest ACA EDE out there, and they're pretty transparent about their enrollment metrics, so until CMS posts their official Weekly Snapshot Enrollment Report (which should happen later this week), Sherpa's updates are pretty good indicators of how things are going overall.
Connect for Health Colorado Sees Steady Growth in Health Insurance Enrollments for 2022 Coverage
DENVER- 50,522 Coloradans have signed up for a health insurance plan through Connect for Health Colorado’s Marketplace between Nov. 1 and Nov. 29, a 14-percentage increase over the same enrollment period last year. Through the first four weeks of the Open Enrollment Period, approximately 75 percent of applicants qualify for savings on their health insurance premiums.
“As the pandemic continues to affect our communities, it’s more important than ever that Coloradans have access to affordable and quality health coverage,” said Chief Executive Officer Kevin Patterson. “Residents who need health coverage, including those who have lost their job health insurance or find themselves in a different financial situation this year, should contact us right away to see the plans and savings available.”
