ARP

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:

  • 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:

Back in 2019, long before the American Rescue Plan passed, I embarked on an ambitious project. I wanted to see what the real-world effects would be of passing a piece of legislation which would eliminate the Affordable Care Act's so-called "Subsidy Cliff" while also strengthening the subsidy formula for those who qualified. Call it "ACA 2.0" for short, if you will (that's what I do, anyway).

This legislation has been around in near-identical form under one official title or another for years, usually bundled within a larger healthcare package. In 2018 it was called the "Undo Sabotage & Expand Affordability of Health Insurance Act of 2018" (or "USEAHIA" which is about as awkward a title as I can imagine.

In 2019 it was rebranded as the "Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions and Making Healthcare More Affordable Act" or "PPECMHMAA," which somehow managed to be even more awkward.

I haven't written about the ACA's Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) rule in awhile. I was pretty obsessed with it a few years ago, and I still check in on it from time to time, but otherwise I've mostly moved on to other things.

HOWEVER, the MLR rule is still pretty important...and while the dollar amounts I'm about to discuss aren't much more than a rounding error in terms of federal budget numbers, it's possible that the could play a small role in helping get a much larger project moving forward.

Before I begin, here's a short refresher on how the MLR rule works:

ACA Signups Logo

Last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid posted a new press release about a new report from the HHS's Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation (ASPE) which has updated ACA-specific enrollment data current as of October 2021 - March 2022:

New Reports Show Record 35 Million People Enrolled in Coverage Related to the Affordable Care Act, with Historic 21 Million People Enrolled in Medicaid Expansion Coverage

ACA Signups Logo

Last June, the U.S. Health & Human Services Dept. confirmed my estimate that total enrollment in healthcare policies either specifically created by (or expanded to more people by) the Affordable Care Act had broken 31 million Americans:

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a new report that shows 31 million Americans have health coverage through the Affordable Care Act – a record. The report also shows that there have been reductions in uninsurance rates in every state in the country since the law’s coverage expansions took effect. People served by the health Marketplaces and Medicaid expansion have reached record highs.

HHS's breakout was fairly close to mine, though they had enrollment a bit higher in some categories and a bit lower in others:

And there it is:

MNsure Logo

via MNsure:

ST. PAUL, Minn.—New data released by the Minnesota Department of Health shows actions taken by state officials and the Biden administration helped drop the state’s uninsured rate in 2021 to 4.0%, the lowest level ever measured.

“The Minnesota Heath Access Survey shows that more Minnesota families have been able to access and maintain their health insurance during this critical time,” said MNsure CEO Nate Clark. “Minnesota has been able to reduce the uninsured rate thanks in part to targeted, effective policies, including the expansion of premium tax credits that lower the cost of monthly premiums for private health plans available through MNsure.”

Access Health CT Logo

via Access Health CT:

  • More than 65,000 Access Health CT enrollees would be impacted

HARTFORD, Conn. (March 16, 2022) — Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced that more than 65,000 Connecticut residents would be negatively impacted by reduced or eliminated financial help for health insurance if the increased financial assistance from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) expires at the end of 2022.

The $178 million per year ($14.8 million per month) of assistance residents receive through ARPA will end unless the enhanced premium tax credits continue past 2022 through federal legislation.

“Ending increased financial help would have a significant impact on Connecticut residents,” said James Michel, Access Health CT Chief Executive Officer, “including progress made toward addressing health disparities. The American Rescue Plan Act makes health insurance coverage more affordable and accessible – greatly reducing the impact of social determinants of health.” 

Covered California Logo

I'll be posting my own urgent analysis/warning about this separately soon as well, but Covered California has beaten me to the punch:

  • A new Covered California analysis describes the potential impact to consumers if the increased health insurance subsidies that were part of the American Rescue Plan are allowed to expire at the end of 2022.
  • In California, all consumers would face premium increases, including 1 million lower-income consumers (individuals earning less than $32,200 per year), who would see their premiums more than double.
  • In addition, middle-income individuals and families (for individuals, those earning more than $51,520 per year), would no longer be eligible for any financial help and would face higher monthly premium costs that for many will mean annual cost increases in the thousands of dollars.
  • The increase in costs could force more than 150,000 people in California and more than 1.7 million nationally to drop their health insurance.

La versión en español de este Comunicado puede ser descargada en este enlace

Open Enrollment 2022

IMPORTANT: The official 2022 Open Enrollment Period has now ended in most of the country, but there's 8 states where residents still have time to #GetCovered, with their new healthcare policies going into effect starting either February 1st or March 1st.

The 2022 OEP is by far the best ever for the ACA coverage, with dramatically expanded financial help for millions more people (including many who weren't eligible last year), reinvigorated expert, unbiased assistance, more choices in many states and counties, and FREE policies for more people than ever before.

If you've never enrolled in an ACA healthcare policy before, or if you looked into it years ago but weren't impressed, please give it another shot now. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), it's a whole different ballgame.

Here's some important things to know when you #GetCovered for 2022:

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