OE8

Last week the Washington Health Benefit Exchange released their official 2021 Open Enrollment Period report.

The "final" OEP numbers are gonna be a little fuzzy in some state-based exchanges this year, of course. Several states had OEP deadlines which extended past the federal one as usual, including some which didn't end until January 31st. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, several of those states went gone ahead and bumped their deadlines out further yet, through as late as March for Maryland and New York.

Then last week, of course, the Biden Administration announced that HealthCare.Gov is re-opening enrollment for a full three months starting on February 15th, and a bunch of state exchanges scrambled to announce their own additional re-openings or extensions...some of which already overlapped with those 1/31 deadlines.

The new Pennsylvania ACA exchange, Pennie, just issued their final official 2021 Open Enrollment report and (as expected) is also joining most other states in re-opening for a COVID-19 Enrollment Period:

Press Release – Pennie Exceeds Expectations & Extends Enrollment for COVID-19

  • As a state-based marketplace, Pennie increases new enrollment by 9.7% and raises total enrollment to nearly 338,000. Now, Pennie is offering more time to enroll in plans for those affected by COVID-19.
  • Pennsylvanians who have recently lost health coverage or have been affected by COVID-19 can visit pennie.com and enroll in a plan from February 15 through May 15.

Add Health Source RI to the list:

HealthSource RI Joins President Biden and Announces New Health Coverage Enrollment Period

EAST PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (February 1, 2021) — Following President Biden’s announcement on Thursday January 28, HealthSource RI has established a new enrollment period to give Rhode Islanders additional time to sign up for health coverage. Uninsured Rhode Islanders can enroll for coverage effective as early as March 1. HealthSource RI’s enrollment period will continue through May 15, 2021.

This enrollment period is open to all eligible uninsured Rhode Islanders, with no requirement to have a qualifying life event to enroll in health coverage.  Coverage starts the first of the month following a complete enrollment.

via the Nevada Health Link...

Today, the Biden‐Harris Administration announced a Special Enrollment Period, allowing Americans to enroll and purchase on‐Exchange health insurance plans from their respective on‐Exchange marketplaces. On behalf of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange and Nevadans statewide, we are pleased to see positive change taking place at the federal level and to witness the fast‐moving actions to protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA), upon which so many Americans rely for quality, affordable and comprehensive health insurance coverage.

This news comes on the heels of our announcement that nearly 82,000 Nevadans enrolled on Nevada Health Link for coverage in 2021. That’s nearly a six percent increase from last year’s enrollment total.

Today’s news from the White House speaks volumes about how the new Administration will continue to support the ACA and help to bolster the health insurance marketplace, protecting hundreds of millions of Americans.

...Annnnd add Get Covered NJ to the list:

Governor Murphy Announces Extension of Affordable Care Act Enrollment Period for Uninsured In New Jersey In Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

  • New Jersey Joins Biden Administration in Effort to Assist Residents Through Special Enrollment Period

TRENTON – Following the Biden Administration’s health care action today, Governor Phil Murphy announced the State is extending the health insurance enrollment period for uninsured residents to sign up for coverage through Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

via the Washington Health Benefit Exchange:

Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) announced today it will open a special enrollment period that parallels the new federal enrollment period which runs from Feb. 15 through May 15, 2021.

“Having health insurance is critically important in these challenging times of COVID,” said Chief Executive Officer Pam MacEwan. “Opening a corresponding special enrollment period in our state gives more uninsured Washingtonians the chance to get needed coverage for 2021.”

The special enrollment period will apply to anyone seeking health insurance coverage. Individuals shopping for coverage during this special enrollment period that select coverage by the 15th of the month will begin receiving coverage the first of the following month.

I just realized that while I've broken out state-level 2021 Open Enrollment data between Medicaid expansion & nonexpansion states, I haven't posted the state-level 2021 vs. 2020 data in a single table yet, so I'm rectifying that today. Note that this still only includes partial data for 5 states (CA, DC, MA, NJ & WA) and no data at all for 3 others (NY, RI, VT).

For that matter, Open Enrollment is still ongoing in either 5 or 6 states (Maryland depends on your POV...they ended OEP in December but re-launched it a few weeks ago in response to the COVID-19 pandemic).

While the data below is incomplete, this seems like a good time to see where things stand given that President Biden is widely expected to announce a re-launch of Open Enrollment tomorrow.

Breaking via the Nevada Health Link...

Nevada’s State Based Exchange enrolls nearly 82,000 Nevadans during Open Enrollment Period for 2021 coverage

  • Enrollment exceeds 2019 figures by nearly 6 percent

(CARSON CITY, NV) – The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange), Nevada’s state agency that helps individuals get connected to budget-appropriate health coverage through the online marketplace, Nevada Health Link, enrolled 81,903 Nevadans during the 2020 health insurance Open Enrollment Period, connecting tens of thousands of Nevadans statewide to Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliant health plans. These enrollment figures exceed 2019’s enrollment figures by 4,493 – a 5.8 percent increase.

Not entirely unexpected, though I'm pretty irritated that they still haven't released any enrollment data to date. Via NY State of Health:

Press Release: Governor Cuomo Press Release: As Part of New York’s Ongoing Response to the COVID-19 Panedmic, Governor Cuomo Announces Open Enrollment for New Yorkers Extended Through March 31

As part of New York's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Open Enrollment Period for uninsured New Yorkers will be extended through March 31, 2021. New Yorkers can apply for coverage through NY State of Health, New York's Official Health Plan Marketplace, or directly through insurers.

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