Braying Donkey

It's been over a year and a half since I've paid much attention to #ShortAssPlans...officially "Short-Term, Limited Duration" healthcare policies.

As a reminder (via the Kaiser Family Foundation):

Short-term, limited duration (STLD) health insurance has long been offered to individuals through the non-group market and through associations. The product was designed for people who experience a temporary gap in health coverage.1 Unlike other products that are considered “limited benefit” or “excepted benefit” policies – such as cancer-only policies or hospital indemnity policies that pay a fixed dollar benefit per inpatient stay – short-term policies are generally considered to be “major medical” coverage; however, short-term policies are distinguished from other comprehensive major medical policies because they only provide coverage for a limited term, typically less than 365 days. Short-term policies are also characterized by other significant limitations, including the types of services covered, often with a dollar maximum.

A few months back, like millions of other Twitter users after the platform was taken over by Elon Musk, I turned to the open source, federated social media platform Mastodon as an alternative. While Mastodon is definitely undergoing some growing pains, for the most part I'm pretty happy with it...so much so that I've actually signed on as a monthly Patreon supporter of the founder & primary instance administrator Eugen Rochko.

Unfortunately, last night I received an email notice which illustrated one of the key problems with Mastodon--a problem which, as it happens, is also at the core of Twitter's current woes: Content moderation policies & enforcement.

Here's the email I received:

Subject: Your posts on @charlesgaba@mastodon.social have been removed

Posts removed

Nevada Health Link Logo

via Nevada Health Link:

Nevadans have until January 15 at 11:59 p.m. to enroll in health and dental plans for 2023

WHAT: Less than one week remains to enroll in qualified, affordable health and dental coverage through NevadaHealthLink.com, the online health insurance marketplace operated by the state agency, the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange). Open Enrollment began on November 1, 2022 and ends on January 15, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.

90% of Nevadans who shop for plans through Nevada Health Link qualify for premium tax credits to help lower the costs of monthly premiums. Nearly half of all Nevadans with plans through Nevada Health Link have plans under $100 per month.

Since November 1, 43,546 Nevadans have actively enrolled or re-enrolled in one of the Exchange’s 163 Qualified Health Plans (QHP) for Plan Year 2023.

MNsure Logo

via MNsure, Minnesota's ACA exchange:

ST. PAUL, Minn.—MNsure, Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace, encourages consumers to be aware of scams targeting Minnesotans who need health insurance during the open enrollment period that runs through January 15, 2023. Scammers may use high-pressure phone calls or misleading websites to obtain personal information or try to fool 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 four tips to verify you’re working with MNsure and purchasing comprehensive health care coverage:

Gold/Silver

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan & Inflation Reduction Act, residents of every state + DC who earn less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), around $20,400/yr for a single adult, is eligible for a $0-premium "Secret Platinum" plan. If they earn between 150 - 200% FPL (roughly $27,200/yr), they're eligible for a slightly less-generous "Secret Platinum" plan with premiums less than 2% of their income (just $45/month for a single adult).

As I explained here, while Silver ACA plans normally only cover around 70% of the average enrollees' medical expenses (in aggregate), the ACA's "Cost Sharing Reduction" (CSR) subsidies mean that eligible enrollees who select "CSR Silver" plans will actually have 94% of their expenses covered for the < 150% crowd and 87% of their expenses covered for the 150 - 200% crowd.

Since Gold plans cover around 80% of expenses & Platinum plans cover roughly 90%, this means that "CSR Silver" is effectively "Secret Platinum" plans for anyone earning less than 200% FPL.

Access Health CT Logo

Via Access Health CT's News/Press Releases page:

Stats as of January 6, 2023

Qualified Health Plans (QHP):

  • QHP Enrollment In 2023 Coverage: 104,658
  • 2022 OE Acquisition Summary: 16,591

Medicaid:

  • Completed applications/ redeterminations processed through the integrated eligibility system: 21,893

I've never been entirely sure what the "Acquisition Summary" figure refers to, but I've confirmed that it's already included in the larger number.

NOTE: According to Ted Doolittle, official Connecticut Healthcare Advocate:

Not 100% sure, but I think "acquisition" means entirely new folks, who haven't had an AccessHealth plan in the past 2-3 years.

MNsure Logo

via MNsure, Minnesota's ACA exchange:

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Want to get healthy or stay well in 2023? Start the year off right by adding “get covered” to your new year’s resolutions and signing up for comprehensive health insurance through MNsure, where Minnesotans choose medical and dental coverage. January 15, 2023, is the last day of Minnesota’s open enrollment period and the deadline to enroll in health coverage that begins on February 1.

Getting covered ensures that you can access the health care you need throughout the year, putting you one step closer to achieving your new year’s health and wellness goals. All plans sold through MNsure are guaranteed to cover a list of essential health benefits that includes prescription drugs, emergency services, and preventive care like flu shots and cancer screenings.

BeWellNM Logo

via BeWell NM, New Mexico's ACA exchange:

2023 Open Enrollment Report

This report provides a summary of information for week one of the beWellnm health insurance individual Marketplace Open Enrollment Period for plan year 2023 (OEP 2023). The report contains data from the beWellnm eligibility and enrollment platform for OEP 2023, and includes an overview of the following:

  • plan selections
  • new enrollees
  • enrollees renewing coverage
  • Customer Engagement Center call volumes
  • website traffic

Enrollment

This section contains enrollment data through December 31, 2022.

1. Total Plan Selections (net): Count of unique individuals who have selected a Plan Year (PY) 2023 Marketplace medical plan. Count includes all new and re-enrolling consumers (defined in Indicators 2 and 3), regardless of whether the consumer has paid the first month premium. Count does not include plans that were canceled or terminated.: 38,150

Washington HealthPlan Finder

via Washington HealthPlanFinder:

There is still time left to shop, switch and enroll in the best health plan for you in 2023 by Jan. 15

With just two weeks left in open enrollment, more than 222,000 Washingtonians have enrolled in their 2023 individual health plan through Washington Healthplanfinder. Driven by the availability of Cascade Care Savings, a new state premium subsidy, more than 60% of customers are enrolled in a Cascade Care plan for 2023 —double the number of enrollees in these plans in 2022.

via Pam Belluck of the New York Times:

For the first time, retail pharmacies, from corner drugstores to major chains like CVS and Walgreens, will be allowed to offer abortion pills in the United States under a regulatory change made Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. The action could significantly expand access to abortion through medication.

Until now, mifepristone — the first pill used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen — could be dispensed only by a few mail-order pharmacies or by specially certified doctors or clinics. Under the new F.D.A. rules, patients will still need a prescription from a certified health care provider, but any pharmacy that agrees to accept those prescriptions and abide by certain other criteria can dispense the pills in its stores and by mail order.

This would be a pretty big deal anyway, but given the Supreme Court's recent repeal of Roe vs. Wade, it obviously takes on even more significance.

Pages

Advertisement