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This just in from Connect for Health Colorado...

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds the Affordable Care Act

  • Coverage protections, financial help and many other programs continue as part of law that has helped millions of Coloradans 

Today, the United States Supreme Court announced its 7-2 decision in California v. Texas, No. 19-840, to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), now covering 31 million Americans.

“We are pleased with the Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. This is welcome news to more than 500,000 Coloradans who have gained access to quality health care coverage through Medicaid expansion,” said Kim Bimestefer, executive director of the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing. “This coverage expansion is more important than ever, given the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, which has caused many Coloradans to lose their jobs and with that their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.” 

Maryland Health Connection

via Maryland Health Connection:

(BALTIMORE) — Michele Eberle, executive director of Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, issues the following statement:

As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the creation of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange this month, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land. This is great news for all Marylanders, including more than 1 million of our neighbors, friends and family covered through Maryland Health Connection. They will continue to have access to quality health insurance plans and financial help for those who qualify. Maryland Health Connection remains open for business and we encourage anyone in need of health insurance to check out their options today. There are new, bigger savings this year. Now more than ever, it’s worth taking a look.

New Jersey

TRENTON – New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court decision today upholding the Affordable Care Act by a 7-2 vote: 

“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a victory for millions of Americans and New Jerseyans who have access to quality, affordable health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

“Under Governor Murphy’s leadership, New Jersey has led the way in increasing access to health insurance based on the guiding principle that health care is a fundamental right. New Jersey launched its own state-based health insurance exchange, Get Covered New Jersey, and provided state-level subsidies to increase access and affordability of health coverage and care for our residents, and enrollment increased by nearly 10 percent during our first Open Enrollment Period. Nearly 40,000 residents have signed up for health insurance during the Special Enrollment Period opened by the state on February 1 in response to COVID-19. 

Covered California Logo

via Covered California...

  • The American Rescue Plan provides new and expanded financial help that dramatically lowers health insurance premiums for people who purchase health insurance through Covered California.
  • More than 52,000 people in the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo regions — including the uninsured and people currently enrolled directly through a health insurance carrier — stand to benefit from the new financial help that is now available.
  • In order to maximize their savings, consumers need to enroll by June 30 so they can begin saving and benefiting from the new law on July 1.
  • Many people will be able to get a high-quality plan for as little as $1 per month, and currently insured consumers could save hundreds of dollars per month on their coverage if they switch to Covered California.
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Yesterday's big story on the ACA front was that the HHS Dept. confirmed more than 1.24 million additional Qualified Health Plan (QHP) selections via the federal exchange (HealthCare.Gov) so far during the ongoing Special Enrollment Period (which runs through 8/15).

In addition to that, however, I've also been tracking the (admittedly scattershot) SEP enrollments across the other 15 states (including DC) which operate their own ACA exchanges. So far only 10 of the State-Based Marketplaces (SBMs) have released any SEP enrollment data, and even then it's been very incomplete. Washington State only released data for the first 9 days of the SEP, for instance...while Pennie (Pennsylvania) just released data all the way through yesterday.

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On top of yesterday's confirmation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid that over 1.24 million Americans have enrolled in ACA coverage via HealthCare.Gov so far during the ongoing Special Enrollment Period, I've also just been informed that Pennsylvania (one of the 15 states operating their own ACA exchange) has enrolled nearly 39,000 people during their SEP since 2/15 as well:

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This just in from CMS...

2021 Marketplace Special Enrollment Period Report: February 15 – May 31, 2021

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that over 1.2 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through HealthCare.gov since February 15, the start of the 2021 Marketplace Special Enrollment Period (SEP) opportunity, through May 31, with 376,000 consumers signing up for health insurance in the month of May.[1]

I projected at least 1.2 million SEP enrollees via HC.gov a week or so ago. On the other hand, I also noted that President Biden appeared to have let this number slip a week earlier anyway, so it wasn't that impressive of a projection:

ACA Signups Logo

Back on May 11th, I noted that total enrollment in healthcare policies either specifically created by (or expanded to more people by) the Affordable Care Act had likely broken 30 million Americans...an all-time high for the healthcare reform law signed by President Obama 11 years ago.

Last weekend, the Health & Human Services Dept. confirmed this, putting the actual total at around 31 million:

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.

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via Covered California...

  • The American Rescue Plan provides new and expanded financial help that dramatically lowers health insurance premiums for people who purchase health insurance through Covered California.
  • More than 32,000 people in the Chico and Redding region – including the uninsured and people currently enrolled directly through a health insurance carrier – stand to benefit from the new financial help that is now available.
  • In order to maximize their savings, consumers need to enroll by June 30 so they can begin saving and benefiting from the new law on July 1.
  • Many people will be able to get a high-quality plan for as little as $1 per month, and currently insured consumers could save hundreds of dollars per month on their coverage if they switch to Covered California.
MNsure Logo

via MNsure:

Get Covered This Summer: More Minnesotans Are Seeing Cost Savings Through MNsure

ST. PAUL, Minn.—For the first time, Minnesotans with higher incomes who purchase health insurance through MNsure can access advanced premium tax credits that lower the cost of monthly health insurance premiums. MNsure is encouraging Minnesotans whose incomes were previously too high for tax credits to take another look at private health care coverage through MNsure.

So far, over 9,600 Minnesotans have enrolled through MNsure’s special enrollment period, which began on February 16 and ends on July 16. The special enrollment period is open to those who are uninsured or insured through a plan outside of MNsure. Private plans from BlueCross BlueShield, HealthPartners, Medica, Quartz and UCare are available.

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