Residents Can Preview Available Plans and See if They Qualify for Financial Help Now at GetCovered.NJ.gov
9 in 10 people Who Enroll Qualify for Savings; Many Pay $10 a Month or Less for Health Coverage
TRENTON — Governor Phil Murphy and New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride announced today that consumers shopping for 2023 health coverage can start purchasing plans beginning November 1, 2022, when Open Enrollment begins at the state’s Official Health Insurance Marketplace, Get Covered New Jersey. Consumers will benefit from historic levels of financial help that remain available for the upcoming year and more plan options with the addition of a new insurance company offering plans on the marketplace.
Final rule creates Special Enrollment Periods and reduces gaps in Medicare coverage, and improves administration of the Medicare Savings Programs.
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that updates Medicare enrollment and eligibility rules to expand coverage for people with Medicare and advance health equity. The final rule, which implements changes made by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), makes it easier for people to enroll in Medicare and eliminates delays in coverage. Among these changes, individuals will now have Medicare coverage the month immediately after their enrollment, thereby reducing any delays in coverage. In addition, the rule expands access through Medicare special enrollment periods (SEPs) and allows certain eligible beneficiaries to receive Medicare Part B coverage without a late enrollment penalty.
via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), by email:
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the latest enrollment figures for Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These programs serve as key connectors to care for more millions of Americans.
Medicare
As of July 2022, 64,831,706 people are enrolled in Medicare. This is an increase of 149,601 since the last report.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces More than Half of All States Have Expanded Access to 12 Months of Medicaid and CHIP Postpartum Coverage
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced that more than half of all states have expanded access to 12 months of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage after pregnancy. Georgia and Pennsylvania are the 25th and 26th states to be approved for the extended coverage, made possible by provisions in the American Rescue Plan (ARP), signed into law by President Biden in March of 2021. This announcement marks critical progress in the implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Maternal Health Blueprint, a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving maternal health, particularly in underserved communities.
Back in August I was able to postestimated preliminary average 2023 rate changes for Texas' individual market. I emphasize "estimated" because the state insurance dept. website isn't helpful and even the filings found in the SERFF database only include actual enrollment data for about half of the dozen or so insurance carriers offering policies on the TX indy market. For the remaining carriers I had to use my best guesstimate of what the market share of each was in order to come up with a weighted average increase, which turned out to be +8.8% for unsubsidized enrollees.
Back in September, Covered California announced that the weighted average individual market premium increases for 2023 (for unsubsidized enrollees) will be around 5.6%, down slightly from the 6.0% average requested by carriers. However, the press release, besides not including a carrier-level breakout of the rate hikes, also didn't say anything about California's small group market.
Biden-Harris Administration Launches Window-Shopping for Affordable and Accessible Health Care Marketplace
Ahead of 10th Open Enrollment period, Biden-Harris Administration announces high levels of health plan affordability, quality, and choice, and a record number of outreach efforts to connect Americans to coverage
The Biden-Harris Administration has made expanding access to health insurance and lowering health care costs for America’s families a top priority, and, starting today, consumers can preview their health care coverage options and see the savings available to them in the most competitive Marketplace in history. Consumers can now visit HealthCare.gov to view detailed information about 2023 health insurance plans and prices offered in their area in advance of the 2023 Marketplace Open Enrollment period that begins November 1, 2022.
The small group market rates are unchanged; the requested premium changes, which have an unweighted average hike of 7.2%, were approved as is. On the individual market, there were some slight reductions from requested rates for BCBS of KC, Sunflower/Ambetter, Medica, Oscar and US Health & Life. As a result, the semi-weighted average increase will be about a point lower (+7.2% vs. +8.3%).
I say semi-weighted because I only have the actual enrollment data for some of the carriers; for the others, I assumed equal enrollment for each of the remaining carriers based on the total statewide individual market size. I may be off on this, but it shouldn't move the needle too much if I am.
Also worth noting: UnitedHealthcare is joining the Kansas individual market for 2023.
The Reinsurance Program, Colorado Option and federal assistance will save people money on health care.
DENVER - The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, has released the approved health insurance plans and premium information for 2023 for individual plans (for people who don’t get their insurance from an employer) and small group plans (for small employers with 2- 100 employees).
Because of the innovative programs the Polis-Primavera administration – in partnership with the legislature – has championed over the last three years, Coloradans can save $326 million statewide on individual health insurance plans for 2023. The Reinsurance Program, the Colorado Option and the DOI’s rate review process are driving substantial savings for the 2023 plan year.
The South Carolina Insurance Dept. has posted their final/approved 2023 rate filings for both the Individual and Small Group markets. Unlike the preliminary filings, which they didn't make easily available, the final filings are pretty clear cut. They don't include the enrollment data for each carrier, but most of that is available via the the federal Rate Review website and/or SERFF databases for the indy market. For the small group market, I was only able to find the number of policyholders, not actual enrollees, although that should still give a fairly close approximation to the relative market share.
On the individual market, average rates are going up around 7.3%, which is down a solid amount from the originally-requested average rate hike of 10.4%. The biggest news on SC's indy market is that Bright Health is dropping out (as they are everywhere else as well), while Cigna and Select Health are joining the ACA exchange.
On the small group market it doesn't look like there are any changes to who's participating. The average rate increase is 4.6%, which is actually down a bit from the 5.5% requested average (mostly due to Blue Cross/Blue Choice having their increases shaved down).
Starting Tuesday, November 1, 2022, Minnesotans can enroll in comprehensive medical and dental coverage for 2023 and access exclusive savings that lower the cost of monthly premiums through MNsure, Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace.
Now in its tenth year of serving Minnesotans, MNsure is the trusted source to find health plans that meet the needs and budgets of Minnesotans. MNsure’s open enrollment period will run from November 1, 2022, through January 15, 2023. Open enrollment is the annual opportunity for Minnesotans to compare options, sign up for health coverage, or change plans.
“We’re looking forward to helping many new families enroll in coverage through MNsure for the first time this year,” said MNsure CEO Nate Clark. “If you’ve thought MNsure doesn’t have anything to offer your family because you didn’t qualify for tax credits before, now is the time to take another look. New federal rules have changed who’s eligible for savings and now more Minnesotans will be able to access tax credits that will lower premium costs by $560/month, on average, in 2023.”
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), approved Medicaid section 1115 demonstration initiatives in Arizona that will help the state take aim at health-related social needs. Like recently approved demonstrations in Oregon and Massachusetts, Arizona’s demonstration will test innovative interventions that target critical drivers of health outcomes, including housing insecurity.
“Everyone deserves the chance to receive the care they need to live safe and healthy lives,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We are proud to work with Arizona in this groundbreaking effort. We will continue doing all we can to strengthen Medicaid, and urge states to follow Arizona’s lead.”
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, enrollees will have lower costs for insulin and free ACIP-recommended vaccines starting in 2023
People with Medicare should review their coverage and drug and health plan options through December 7, 2022 on Medicare.gov
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing that Medicare Open Enrollment begins tomorrow — Saturday, October 15 — and will remain open through December 7, 2022. Medicare’s Open Enrollment period gives people with Medicare the opportunity to make changes to their health plan or prescription drug plan, pick a Medicare Advantage plan, or return to Original Medicare (also referred to as Medicare Part A and Part B). Medicare plans can change their offerings and costs every year, and individuals’ health needs can change from year-to-year, too. Now is the time for people with Medicare to review their coverage options and make a choice that best meets their health care needs.
Preview available 2023 health plans ahead of open enrollment
Shop new savings available to you in 2023 before open enrollment begins on Nov. 1
Washingtonians can start to shop, compare, and find new savings opportunities on Washington Healthplanfinder prior to the beginning of open enrollment. Now through Oct. 30, individuals and families can visit wahealthplanfinder.org to preview their 2023 plan options and sign up for a reminder email when open enrollment is open — Nov. 1, 2022, through Jan. 15, 2023.
“Plan preview allows Washingtonians added time to learn about the health plans and savings available to them prior having to make a final decision,” interim CEO Jim Crawford said. “This year, there are more savings available than ever before with the introduction of Cascade Care Savings.”
Certified Enrollment Assistors Available to Meet with Shoppers On Site
ALBANY, NY (October 20, 2022) – NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced its continued partnership with Rite Aid to help New Yorkers find a health plan that fits their needs and budget. Certified Enrollment Assistors will be available at Rite Aid locations across the state to provide information about affordable coverage, answer questions and make enrollment appointments. Assistors will be available near pharmacies at select locations statewide on October 22, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enrollment for 2022 coverage remains open for Medicaid, Essential Plan, Child Health Plus and Qualified Health Plans (QHP). New Yorkers can newly enroll (or renew current coverage) in a Qualified Health Plan for 2023 starting November 16, 2022.
This open enrollment season, be on the lookout for online scams targeting Minnesotans who need health insurance. MNsure’s open enrollment period runs from November 1, 2022, through January 15, 2023. Scammers take advantage of this opportunity to try to trick Minnesotans into purchasing products that do not provide comprehensive coverage
For example, if you search for MNsure online, you may see ads or websites that appear to be the official MNsure website but are not. Some of these sites collect your contact information and may bombard you with phone calls. Scammers also may claim they can find you a better plan for less money or threaten that your coverage will be discontinued if you don’t re-enroll.
Here are three tips to verify you’re working with MNsure and purchasing comprehensive health care coverage:
Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced Navigator partnerships with the Community Health Center Association of CT (CHCACT) at its Danbury, Norwich and Willimantic locations, Community Renewal Team (CRT) in Hartford, Greater Bridgeport Area Prevention Program (GBAPP) in Bridgeport and New Opportunities, Inc. in Waterbury. These partnerships increase the number of Navigator locations in the state and deepen AHCT’s reach into Connecticut communities where residents can get one-on-one health insurance enrollment help year-round.
“Our Navigator program is a critical part of our outreach, particularly to underserved communities,” said Chief Executive Officer of Access Health CT, James Michel. “It was important to us to expand this service, so all Connecticut residents can get the help they need to enroll in health insurance plans throughout the year. Qualifying life events that allow you to enroll in health insurance outside of the annual Open Enrollment period, like getting married or having a baby, can happen any time. We want residents to have somewhere to turn all year.”
Tennessee has posted their approved 2023 individual & small group market health insurance rate filings. For the most part they're fairly straightforward: The individual market is looking at average rate increases of around 8.5% (down a bit from the 9% average via preliminary filings), while the small group market averages around +3.0% overall.
The biggest news here is Bright Health is dropping out of Tennessee's markets. Bright's withdrawal will leave roughly 50,000 Tennessee residents to have to either manually pick a different plan from a different carrier or be automatically "mapped" to a similar plan to what they have now...via a different carrier.
West Virginia has by far the highest average unsubsidized premiums in the country (Wyoming and Alaska rank 2nd and 3rd). It also has the second smallest individual market in the U.S. (Alaska has the smallest), with just over 22,000 West Virginians enrolled in ACA policies statewide.
For 2023, they're looking at roughly a 5% rate hike for those who don't qualify for ACA subsidies. The good news is that, being West Virginia, the vast majority of those enrolled (95%) do qualify for financial help.
WV's ACA-compliant small group market is even smaller, just ~14,000 people; they're looking at roughly a 3.4% average rate hike next year.
10/18/2022 The Alabama Department of Insurance (ALDOI) has approved the final 2023 premium rates for the Affordable Care Act Individual Market in Alabama. The rates will be effective on January 1, 2023. The three carriers in the Alabama individual market are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama (BCBS), UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company (UHC), and Celtic Insurance Company (CIC). In general, rates for BCBS decreased 0.3 percent, and rates for UHC increased 14.9 percent. CIC is new to the Affordable Care Act Individual Market in Alabama in 2023. The actual rates and the supporting material may be found by clicking on the links below.
Consumers with an insurance question may contact the Alabama Department of Insurance, Consumer Services Division, using the contact information below. The Department also maintains a Live Chat feature for consumers at our website at www.aldoi.gov. A representative will be happy to help answer your questions.
Hearing Aids: Hearing aids are so expensive that only 14% of the approximately 48 million Americans with hearing loss use them. On average, they cost more than $5,000 per pair, and those costs are often not covered by health insurance. A major driver of the expense is that consumers must get them from a doctor or a specialist, even though experts agree that medical evaluation is not necessary. Rather, this requirement serves only as red tape and a barrier to more companies selling hearing aids. The four largest hearing aid manufacturers now control 84% of the market.
In 2017, Congress passed a bipartisan proposal to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter. However, the Trump Administration Food and Drug Administration failed to issue the necessary rules that would actually allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter, leaving millions of Americans without low-cost options.
The 2023 ACA Open Enrollment Period is still ongoing in 6 states, and many people can still enroll in other states as well!
The 2023 OEP is the best ever for the ACA for several reasons:
First, the expanded/enhanced premium subsidies first introduced in 2021 via the American Rescue Plan, which make premiums more affordable for those who already qualified while expanding eligibility to millions who weren't previously eligible, are continuing for at least another 3 years via the Inflation Reduction Act;
Second, because several states are either expanding or retooling their own state-based subsidy programs to make ACA plans even more affordable for their enrollees;
There's also expanded carrier & plan offerings in many states/counties, and as always, millions of people will be eligible for zero premium comprehensive major medical policies.
If you've never enrolled in an ACA healthcare policy before, or if you looked into it a few years back but weren't impressed, please give it another shot now. Thanks to these major improvements it's a whole different ballgame.
Here's thirteen important things to know when you #GetCovered for 2023:
Open Enrollment for 2023 Health Insurance Begins October 15
Idahoans can now determine their tax credit and shop for a plan within minutes.
BOISE, Idaho – Open Enrollment for health insurance in Idaho starts tomorrow, October 15. Idahoans can enroll in 2023 medical and dental coverage through Your Health Idaho, the state’s health insurance exchange. For the first time ever, Idahoans will be able to apply for a tax credit and health insurance on the same application and find out if they qualify within minutes. The new technology is designed to improve Idahoan’s health insurance shopping experience.
Florida state law gives private corporations wide berth as to what sort of information, which is easily available in some other states, they get to hide from the public under the guise of it being a "trade secret."
In the case of health insurance premium rate filing data, that even extends to basic information like "how many customers they have."
Hmmmm...Vermont's filings are usually pretty easy to average because a) they don't redact any of their filing data; b) they make the forms easy to access; and c) they only have two insurance carriers operating in the individual or small group markets anyway (in fact, it's the same two carriers in both markets).
Back in May, the preliminary individual market rate filings were +12.3% for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and +17.4% for MVP, for a weighted average increase of 14.7%, while the small group filings averaged out to +14.6%.
As I (and many others) have been noting for many months now, the official end of the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE), whenever it happens, will presumably bring with it reason to celebrate...but will also likely create a new disaster at the same time:
What goes up usually goes back down eventually, and that's likely to be the case with Medicaid enrollment as soon as the public health crisis formally ends...whenever that may be.
Well, yesterday Ryan Levi and Dan Gorenstein of of the Tradeoffs healthcare policy podcast posted a new episode which attempts to dig into just when that might be, how many people could be kicked off of the program once that time comes and how to mitigate the fallout (I should note that they actually reference my own estimate in the program notes):
Georgia's health department doesn't publish their annual rate filings publicly, but they don't hide them either; I was able to acquire pretty much everything via a simple FOIA request. Huge kudos to the GA OCI folks!
A few years ago, Georgia's GOP Governor, Brian Kemp, put in a request to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for what's known as a Section 1332 State Innovation Waiver. If approved, these waivers allow individual states to modify how the ACA operates in their state as long as they can prove that the changes would a) cover at least as many residents b) at least as comprehensively without c) increasing federal spending in the process.
Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman commended President Joe Biden’s administration for finalizing the proposed fix to the “Family Glitch,” an issue that had prevented millions of Americans with unaffordable employer health insurance from getting marketplace coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
“Covered California supports this proposed rule change, which will build on the Affordable Care Act’s vision and intent to expand access to affordable health insurance, by opening the door of coverage to millions of Americans.
This is a new era for the Affordable Care Act, as Covered California prepares to enter its 10th open enrollment period, with increased financial help available for those who need coverage as well as our 1.7 million enrollees.
Via the SERFF database, it looks like Rhode Island's two individual market carriers have had their 2023 individual market rate changes finalized. Blue Cross Blue Shield is increasing rates lower than they originally requested (3.1% instead of 9.6%), while Neighborhood Health Plan rates are increasing more than they originally asked for (8.3% vs. 6.9%).
Overall weighted average increase: +6.1%, down from +8.0%.
Unfortunately I can't find the final rate change filings for the small group market yet.
Salem – People who purchase their own health insurance, as well as those in the small group market, can view the final rate decisions for the 2023 health insurance plans, which have been released by the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation. The division reviews and approves rates through a detailed and transparent process before they can be charged to policyholders.
The division conducted a rigorous review, including holding public hearings and taking public comments, to reach the final decisions. The division published preliminary decisions in July before the public hearings. In the public hearings, members of the public, health insurance companies, and the division have the opportunity to further review and analyze the preliminary decisions.
The Montana Insurance Dept. has published the final/approved (unsubsidized) premium rate changes for 2023 in both the individual and small group markets:
Insurance companies offering individual and small group health insurance plans are required to file proposed rates with the Montana State Auditor’s Department of Insurance for review and before plans can be sold to consumers.
What is a rate review?
The rate review process, established by the Montana Legislature in 2013, does not give the Commissioner the authority to disapprove rates or prevent them from taking effect. It does give the commissioner the chance to review the factors insurance companies use in setting rates.
If the commissioner finds a rate increase to be excessive or unjustified, the insurer can voluntarily lower the rate increase. If the insurer decides to use the rate anyway, the commissioner will issue a public finding announcing that the rate is unjustified.
The overall average rate increase for 2023 Indiana individual marketplace plans is 5.7%.
The IDOI will finalize the review of the 2023 ACA compliant filings both on and off the federal Marketplace by August 18, 2022.
The medical trend increase ranges from 5.1-10.2%. This varies depending on networks and experience of each carrier.
The premium averages shown consist of a combination of catastrophic, bronze, silver, gold and platinum plans. The premium is reflected as an average; individuals may experience a rate increase or decrease dependent on the plan selection or auto-enrollment process.
Within each metal level there are numerous plans with various cost sharing methods.
There's been no change to any of the rate filings on the individual market. A few of the small group market carriers were shaved down a bit.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines for Use as a Booster Dose in Younger Age Groups
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent to authorize their use as a single booster dose in younger age groups. The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for administration at least two months following completion of primary or booster vaccination in children down to six years of age. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for administration at least two months following completion of primary or booster vaccination in children down to five years of age.
The Department of Insurance receives preliminary health plan information for the following year from insurance carriers by June 1 and reviews the proposed plan documents and rates for compliance with Idaho and federal regulations.The Department of Insurance does not have the authority to set or establish insurance rates, but it does have the authority to deem rate increases submitted by insurance companies as reasonable or unreasonable. After the review and negotiation process, the carriers submit their final rate increase information.The public is invited to provide comments on the rate changes. Please send any comments to Idaho Department of Insurance.
DC Announces 2023 Health Insurance Rates; Half of Insurers Decrease Rates after District Review
Washington, DC–Today, the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) announced the 2023 approved individual and small business health insurance rates. As a result of the Department’s review, half of the insurers decreased their initial rate proposals, which will save District residents more than $17 million.
“The Bowser Administration and the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking are committed to fair rates and non-discriminatory coverage,” said DISB Commissioner Karima M. Woods. “We performed a thorough review of 211 small group plans and 27 individual plans to ensure that they meet the District’s standards and provide non-discriminatory, accessible and affordable health insurance for our residents.”
I can't overstate how much I wish every state was as good as Pennsylvania is at not only making their annual rate filings publicly available on the state insurance dept. website, but doing so in such a clear, simple format, while also including a consistent summary page for every carrier!
As a result of this attention to transparency and detail, I was able to put together my Pennsylvania analysis pretty quickly even though they hae a huge number of carriers on both their individual and small group markets.
Insurance Department Announces 2023 Health Insurance Rates; Highlights More Plan Options And Positive Impact Of Inflation Reduction Act
Harrisburg, PA – Acting Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys today announced Pennsylvania's 2023 Individual and Small Group Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance rates, highlighting increased marketplace competition for several counties, and how the Inflation Reduction Act and extension of subsidies contributed to lower rates. Pennsylvanians can expect more options and greater competition while shopping for health insurance plans for 2023.
There's two significant changes this year: One new entrant to the individual market (Imperial Insurance) and one major withdrawl...Bright Health Co., which I wrote about earlier today; they had around 19,700 enrollees in the AZ individual market as of a year ago, though I don't know how many are enrolled at the moment.
In any event, Arizona is looking at a weighted average rate increase of 4.3% on the individual market (for unsubsidized enrollees only), and 8.2% on the small group market:
New state savings available for 2023 provide an unprecedented opportunity to get covered Olympia, WA
More than 40% of Washingtonians who get their health insurance through Washington Healthplanfinder could receive brand new state-funded premium subsidies when enrolling in coverage for 2023. To get these new savings — called Cascade Care Savings — customers can newly sign up for, or switch to, a qualifying plan during open enrollment starting Nov. 1.
Building upon high-quality Cascade Care plans introduced in 2021, Cascade Care Savings is for Washingtonians making up to 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) — generally low-wage and part-time workers. These savings are available exclusively through Cascade Care Silver and Gold plans offered on Washington Healthplanfinder.
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Minnesotans who need health insurance can now shop and compare medical and dental plans for 2023 through MNsure, Minnesota's health insurance marketplace. MNsure's open enrollment period starts November 1 and runs through January 15, 2023, but Minnesotans can use MNsure's plan comparison tool this month to check out their options and get a cost estimate so they are ready to sign up for coverage when open enrollment begins.
"There is great news for Minnesotans shopping for 2023 health coverage through MNsure," said MNsure CEO Nate Clark. "With larger tax credits available for more Minnesotans, we estimate Minnesota families will save an average $560/month ($6,700/year) when they buy coverage and access financial help that's only available through MNsure."
Of all the problems the ACA has encountered over the 12 years since it was first signed into law by President Obama, one of the most irritating ones had nothing to do with Republican sabotage. The call on this one was made by the IRS (then under the Obama Administration), based on their interpretation of a few bits of language within the legislative text itself back in 2013: The Family Glitch.
We still get calls on a regular basis from people who are shopping for individual insurance because adding dependents to their employer plan is prohibitively expensive. We estimate that roughly 20 percent of the people who contact us are in this situation.
A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that the Biden Administration's historic vaccination program, which has gotten over 90 percent of seniors fully vaccinated and over 70 percent of seniors a booster shot, is linked to more than 650,000 fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations and more than 300,000 fewer deaths among seniors and other Americans enrolled in Medicare. The study, which was conducted by researchers with HHS's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), underscores the importance of Americans – particularly seniors and others at high-risk of serious outcomes – getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall.
It's been nearly a year since I've checked in on what the off-exchange individual health insurance market looks like. In October 2021, Mark Farrah Associates estimated the total indy market (including both on- and off-exchange enrollees) at around 15.9 million people nationally as of June 2021. Of that, they figured roughly 75.4% of it was on-exchange vs. 24.6% off-exchange.
However, as I noted at the time, there were a couple of important caveats with Mark Farrah's estimates, two of which they mentioned but one of which they didn't:
It is important to note that Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) applied enrollment figures for select carriers not required to report health enrollment on a quarterly basis and made other adjustments based on market analysis. Furthermore, individual enrollment includes short term plan enrollees and may include Medicaid programs, such as CHIP, as some states include subsidized lines in the individual segment. These factors may have resulted in moderate understatement or overstatement of enrollment.
Since transitioning away from the federal health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, and becoming a State-Based Exchange (SBE) in 2019, the Exchange has focused on expanding the online marketplace by adding new Qualified Health Plan (QHP) options and insurance carriers. This year, 37 new health insurance plan options have been added, bringing to a total of 163 QHPs across seven private insurance carriers.
The seven private health insurance carriers offering plans through NVHealthLink.com are:
Starting today, Nevadans can “window shop” to view and compare plans on NVHealthLink.com
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Oct. 3, 2022) – Nevada Health Link, the online health insurance marketplace operated by the state agency, the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange), has announced the expansion of new plan options for the upcoming Open Enrollment Period (OEP). Starting today, Nevadans can visit NVLink.com and start “window shopping” to compare and explore plans prior to OEP beginning Nov. 1, 2022 through Jan. 15, 2023.
New Qualified Health Plan Options
Since transitioning away from the federal health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, and becoming a State-Based Exchange (SBE) in 2019, the Exchange has focused on expanding the online marketplace by adding new Qualified Health Plan (QHP) options and insurance carriers. This year, 37 new health insurance plan options have been added, bringing to a total of 163 QHPs across seven private insurance carriers.
Consumers Can Preview Affordable and Comprehensive Plan Options Now, Enroll Starting November 16, 2022
Enhanced Federal Financial Assistance Will Remain Available for 2023 Health Coverage
ALBANY, N.Y. (October 5, 2022) – NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced the health and dental insurance plans offered through the Marketplace for the upcoming 2023 Open Enrollment Period. New Yorkers shopping for a Qualified Health Plan can compare plan options now and be prepared for the 2023 Open Enrollment Period, which begins on November 16, 2022 and runs through January 31, 2023.
NJ Department of Banking and Insurance Announces Expanded Health Insurance Options in 2023, Historic Levels of Financial Help Remain Available at Get Covered New Jersey
TRENTON — The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance today announced that consumers shopping for 2023 health coverage this fall at Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, will continue to benefit from historic levels of federal and state financial help. Consumers will also have more choice with Aetna now offering plans on the marketplace, increasing the overall number of carriers for the second consecutive year.
“Since launching our own health insurance marketplace, the Murphy Administration has been committed to increasing access to quality, affordable health coverage through Get Covered New Jersey,” said Commissioner Marlene Caride. “For the upcoming year, we have expanded the number of carriers offering plans through Get Covered New Jersey to five, up from three in 2020, and will continue to provide record levels of financial help to lower premiums.”
BALTIMORE (Oct. 4, 2022) – Marylanders can now explore health plans and prices for 2023 at the Maryland Health Connection, the state’s online health insurance marketplace. Using the Get an Estimate tool, you can compare plans and find out whether you are eligible for financial help in just a few minutes. Open enrollment to sign up for a 2023 health plan runs from Nov. 1, 2022 through Jan. 15, 2023.
“You never know when you might need emergency care or a visit to a doctor or specialist. If you have health insurance, you’re covered for when the unexpected happens,” said Michele Eberle, executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. “I want to encourage anyone who is currently going without health care coverage to use the Get an Estimate tool to check out health plans and savings.”
As an example, a 40-year-old individual living in the Baltimore metro region who makes $50,000 a year will pay a monthly premium of $312 for the lowest cost gold plan.
This morning a group of researchers published a working paper at the National Bureau of Economic Research which delves deeply into excess death rates among Republicans vs. Democrats during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Political affiliation has emerged as a potential risk factor for COVID-19, amid evidence that Republican-leaning counties have had higher COVID-19 death rates than Democrat- leaning counties and evidence of a link between political party affiliation and vaccination views. This study constructs an individual-level dataset with political affiliation and excess death rates during the COVID-19 pandemic via a linkage of 2017 voter registration in Ohio and Florida to mortality data from 2018 to 2021.
