To say the topic of student loan program debt forgiveness has gotten a lot of attention in recent years would certainly be an understatement. Plenty of debate has been completed on both sides of the issue, with no real resolution anywhere in sight. In Hawaii, however, some action has been taken with the goal of both helping healthcare workers and also strengthening the healthcare system for residents of the 50th state.
In order to provide the funds needed to help healthcare workers pay off student loan debt that was incurred, this program is going to use a blend of state and private funding. As a starting point, $30 million will be provided by the state and an additional $5 million is going to be contributed by the CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff.
On Jan. 1, immigrants may qualify for Medi-Cal regardless of legal status
...Milagro and her husband are among the more than 700,000 immigrants ages 26-49 expected to newly qualify for full health insurance come Jan. 1. That’s when California takes the final step in opening up Medi-Cal, the state’s health care program for low-income residents, to everyone who meets eligibility requirements, regardless of their immigration status.
This is about as minor of an enrollment update as it gets, but for what it's worth, the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority posted this update a couple of weeks ago:
DC HEALTH BENEFIT EXCHANGE AUTHORITY Enrollment Summary
As of January 4th, 2024
INDIVIDUAL ENROLLMENT
Current Enrollment: 14,248
Enrollment 1 Year Ago: 13,941
CHANGE: +307
...we could now be looking at anywhere from 21.4 - 22.7 million QHPs, for a grand total of somewhere between 22.7 - 24.0M QHPs+BHPs combined by the time the dust settles in every state on January 1st. I'll stick with 23M for the moment just in case...
A week later, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted their final pre-deadline Open Enrollment Snapshot Report, which confirmed that over 20.3 million people had selected Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) through December 23rd.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace (OHIM) will release biweekly updates on plan selections through CoverME.gov, Maine’s Health Insurance Marketplace.
Plan selections provide a snapshot of activity by new and returning consumers who have selected a plan for 2024. “Plan selections” become “enrollments” once consumers have paid their first monthly premium to begin insurance. These numbers are subject to change as consumers may modify or cancel plans after their initial selection.
The deadline to select a plan for coverage beginning January 1, 2024 is December 15, 2023. Consumers who select a plan between December 16, 2023 and January 16, 2024 will have coverage beginning February 1, 2024.
More than 273,000 Washingtonians signed up for health insurance coverage
Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) ended 2024 open enrollment (Nov. 1, 2023 – Jan. 15, 2024) with a record 273,000 Washingtonians signed up for health insurance coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder the state’s online health insurance marketplace. This historic high represents an increase of more than 18% over 2023.
About 52,000 new customers gained coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder, a 40% increase over last year, and another record high. New customers include those who transitioned from Apple Health coverage, and those, for the first time ever, who are eligible regardless of immigration status. More customers than ever (86,000) also signed up for dental coverage.
Enrollment grew more than 17% since last year to an all-time high in 11th year of state-based marketplace
BALTIMORE (Jan. 18, 2024) – More people than ever before enrolled in health coverage during the recent open enrollment through Maryland Health Connection.
Open enrollment began Nov. 1, 2023, and ended Jan. 15. During the 90-day enrollment period, 213,895 enrolled – a 17% increase from the 182,166 Marylanders who enrolled a year ago. It was the largest increase and the largest total ever on Maryland’s health insurance marketplace.
“Health care is a basic right that every Marylander deserves. Today, we are one step closer to building a healthier state where everyone can receive the care they need," Governor Wes Moore said. “We will continue to move in partnership to ensure that in Maryland, health care is affordable and accessible to all. It's an integral part of our pledge to leave no one behind."
DENVER— Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, closed its annual Open Enrollment Period yesterday and reports that 237,107 people have enrolled in a 2024 health insurance plan. That is about 18 percent higher than last year’s end of Open Enrollment total of 201,758 enrollments and is Connect for Health Colorado’s biggest enrollment period ever. Of the total enrollments for 2024 coverage, 77 percent are receiving financial help to reduce premiums.
Additionally, 12,485 people enrolled in a health insurance plan through Colorado Connect, Connect for Health Colorado’s public benefit corporation and online platform. The majority of those Colorado Connect enrollments were from the OmniSalud program, which provides Coloradans who are undocumented with a safe platform to compare plans, apply for financial help, and enroll.
Governor Tim Walz today announced that a record number of Minnesotans signed up for private health insurance plans using MNsure, Minnesota’s official health insurance marketplace. At the close of MNsure’s annual open enrollment period on January 15, 146,445 people had successfully signed up for private health plans for 2024.
It's important to note that the way Minnesota reports "signups" has consistently been a bit higher than what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) states in their official Open Enrollment Reports. I've never been quite sure whether MNsure lumps in small group market QHPs (SHOP plans) or if it's just some weird clerical methodology issue, but year after year, the CMS report is always around 8-9% lower than what MNsure reports.
For instance, last year, MNsure reported their official QHP enrollment total as 129,537 people...but CMS reported it as just 118,431 (8.6% lower).
