Mark Farrah Associates is an electronic publisher of business information and analytics for the U.S. healthcare industry; they aggregate industry data and market metrics for their own database products that they sell on a subscription basis.

They typically release state-level breakout estimates of the total U.S. individual market once or twice a year. They haven't done so in 2023 as of yet, but today they did release this overview analysis:

A few days ago, a federal Trump-appointed district court judge in Louisiana ruled that the federal government is no longer allowed to fight disinformation online in a devastating ruling:

District Court Judge Terry Doughty, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that bars several federal departments and agencies from various interactions with social media companies.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a notice that it will appeal the injunction with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The government also expects to ask the court to stay the district judge's decision, meaning it would not go into effect while the appeal is heard.

Last month I posted an explainer about a situation in California which boiled down to a huge pot of extra revenue (~$330 million per year, give or take) being fought over between Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democratically-controlled State Legislature.

The bottom line is that this funding was intended to go towards reducing health insurance premiums for ACA exchange enrollees via Covered California as supplemental subsidies to be added on top of federal ACA tax credits...but the passage of the American Rescue Plan and the subsequent Inflation Reduction Act kind of made that moot, since the federal subsidies were made more generous than what the state subsidies would have been anyway.

As a result, Gov. Newsom decided that the extra revenue should go into the general state fund, while Democrats on the state legislature wanted to redirect it to eliminate deductibles and other types of cost sharing for ACA enrollees instead. This led to an impasse for the past several months:

As I wrote about back in March and updated in May, New York's implementation of the ACA's Basic Health Plan provision (Section 1331 of the law) is called the Essential Plan. It currently serves over 1.1 million New Yorkers, or over 5x as many residents as ACA exchange plans do.

Whenever I write about BHPs I always throw in a simple explainer about what it is, with an assist from Louise Norris:

Under the ACA, most states have expanded Medicaid to people with income up to 138 percent of the poverty level. But people with incomes very close to the Medicaid eligibility cutoff frequently experience changes in income that result in switching from Medicaid to ACA’s qualified health plans (QHPs) and back. This “churning” creates fluctuating healthcare costs and premiums, and increased administrative work for the insureds, the QHP carriers and Medicaid programs.

The out-of-pocket differences between Medicaid and QHPs are significant, even for people with incomes just above the Medicaid eligibility threshold who qualify for cost-sharing subsidies.

New York

via New York State of Health:

June 30, 2023

Governor Kathy Hochul today encouraged eligible New Yorkers to renew their health insurance coverage as insurance renewal deadlines rapidly approach. The Governor also issued a public service announcement to get the message out to New Yorkers.

Connecticut

via Access Health CT:

These free, in-person events will take place in Bridgeport, East Hartford, Middletown and Torrington

HARTFORD, Conn. (June 27, 2023) — Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced it will host four free, in-person enrollment fairs in July and August to help HUSKY Health enrollees who have been affected by recent legislation. The events will take place in Bridgeport, East Hartford, Middletown and Torrington. HUSKY Health is Connecticut’s Medicaid program.

Medicaid Unwinding is a term the federal government is using to describe the process of resuming reviewing households for Medicaid eligibility after a three-year hiatus during the Public Health Emergency. The eligibility redetermination process resumed April 1.

Connecticut residents that remain eligible for HUSKY Health will likely be automatically reenrolled; those that need to take action will receive mail with instructions.

Michigan

via the Michigan Dept. of Insurance & Financial Services:

(LANSING, MICH) The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) is reminding consumers that they have the right to appeal a denial of a health insurance claim to DIFS after attempting resolution through the insurer’s appeal process. To assist Michiganders with these appeals, the state has launched a newly updated consumer website that offers more information and answers to frequently asked questions.

via the New Jersey Dept. of Banking & Insurance:

New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Issues Guidance to Insurance Carriers to Ensure Nondiscriminatory Health Coverage to Transgender Individuals

  • Addresses obligation to follow laws against discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression or on the basis that an individual is a transgender person

TRENTON — Department of Banking and Insurance Acting Commissioner Justin Zimmerman today issued a bulletin providing guidance to insurance carriers concerning health coverage for transgender individuals to ensure all New Jersey residents have equal access to health coverage and health care.  

The guidance follows Executive Order No. 326 signed by Governor Phil Murphy in April protecting gender-affirming health care in New Jersey. 

via Nevada Health Link:

State Agencies Work Together to Keep Nevadans Insured

  • Nevada Health Link, Nevada Medicaid and Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) continue to engage Nevadans whose health coverage may be impacted by the Public Health Emergency ending

(CARSON CITY, Nev.) – Nevada Health Link, Nevada Medicaid and the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) are working together to ensure Nevadans enrolled on Medicaid are informed about the Medicaid renewal process that has resumed as a result of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) ending. The state agencies are working to keep Nevadans insured by encouraging them to fill out their redetermination packets in the mail and if they are no longer eligible for Medicaid, to seek affordable health insurance coverage through the state marketplace, Nevada Health Link.

During this springs Congressional kabuki theater regarding raising the federal debt ceiling, one of the biggest points of contention was House Republicans insistence on tying work requirements (w/stringent reporting) to Medicaid eligibility.

"Work requirements" is as old a saw for Republican politicians as "selling insurance across state lines," and it's just as ineffective and counterproductive (as well as simply being cruel). This debate has been held numerous times before, and the upside of such requirements has been debunked repeatedly, but here he go again:

As Joan McCarter of Daily Kos put it way back in 2015:

Pages

Advertisement