Idahoans to see 12-percent lower health insurance costs with approval of key “Leading Idaho” waiver
Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little announced today the State of Idaho achieved a key milestone of the “Leading Idaho” plan – approval of the state’s innovation waiver, ensuring accessible health insurance for more Idahoans.
“Idahoans benefited from another win from our ‘Leading Idaho’ plan today. The approval of the state’s innovation waiver is estimated to reduce insurance premiums for individuals by about 12-percent, keeping more Idahoans insured and providing them better access to affordable healthcare,” Governor Little said.
The Department of Insurance receives preliminary health plan information for the following year from insurance carriers by June 1 and reviews the proposed plan documents and rates for compliance with Idaho and federal regulations.The Department of Insurance does not have the authority to set or establish insurance rates, but it does have the authority to deem rate increases submitted by insurance companies as reasonable or unreasonable. After the review and negotiation process, the carriers submit their final rate increase information.The public is invited to provide comments on the rate changes. Please send any comments to Idaho Department of Insurance.
Idaho is unique among the 50 U.S. states + DC this year in that it's the only one whose ACA exchange ended their 2022 Open Enrollment Period (OEP) before the official January 15th final deadline set by the Biden Administration.
Your Health Idaho was originally going to stick with December 15th as their final Open Enrollment deadline (most states made 12/15 the deadline for January coverage, but are giving residents until 1/15 to enroll for coverage starting in February). They ended up extending that deadline out until December 22nd in the end, but that's it--going forward, Idahoans will only be eligible for ACA coverage if they become eligible thanks to a Qualifying Life Event (QLE) such as losing their existing coverage, moving to a different rating area, turning 26 and so on.
In any event, even without the January final deadline, YHI still managed to beat last year's enrollment numbers by 6.6%:
Here are the OE 2022 numbers with year over year change included (the YoY is Dec. 22, 2021 vs Dec. 31, 2020).
Final Deadline for Health Insurance in Idaho is December 22
Final Deadline for Health Insurance in Idaho is December 22
Final days for Idahoans to apply for 2022 coverage
BOISE, Idaho – Idahoans looking to find 2022 health insurance coverage still have a few days left to enroll through the state health insurance exchange, Your Health Idaho. Idahoans who do not have benefits through their employer and are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare can enroll in private coverage through the exchange.
After extending the original deadline from Dec. 15, exchange officials are urging Idahoans to apply for the monthly health insurance tax credit and make their final plan selection by 11:59 p.m. (MT) on Wednesday, Dec. 22.
Your Health Idaho extended the original deadline by one week, citing increased demand and longer processing times due to staffing challenges.
While the final Open Enrollment Period (OEP) deadline for 2022 healthcare coverage has been extended back out until January 15th in every other state, there's one exception. Your Health Idaho, the Gem State's ACA exchange, chose to defy the other 49 states + DC by keeping the same OEP deadline which has been the norm for the past few years.
In most states, you still have to enroll by December 15th if you want your 2022 policy coverage to start on January 1st...but if you miss the first deadline, you still have until January 15th to enroll for coverage starting February 1st. Idaho, however, decided to stick with December 15th as their final enrollment deadline; anyone who misses that cut-off is out of luck for the rest of the year unless they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period due to a qualifying life experience.
Idaho’s Open Enrollment Period for Health Coverage Begins
New carriers and expanded tax credits give Idahoans more choices and savings
BOISE, Idaho – Starting Monday, Nov. 1, Idahoans who do not have coverage through their employer and don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare, can enroll in 2022 medical and dental coverage through Your Health Idaho, the state’s health insurance exchange.
“This is an exciting year for Your Health Idaho and our customers,” said Your Health Idaho executive director, Pat Kelly. “Not only do we have two new insurance carriers and a record number of plans, but Idahoans are also seeing more savings than ever before thanks to the enhanced subsidies that are only available through Your Health Idaho.”
Open Enrollment for 2022 health insurance begins November 1
New carriers and expanded tax credits give Idahoans more choices and savings
BOISE, Idaho – Open Enrollment for health insurance is just one week away. Beginning Nov. 1, Idahoans who do not have coverage through their employer and don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare, can enroll in 2022 medical and dental coverage through Your Health Idaho, the state’s health insurance exchange.
Your Health Idaho will offer a record number of plans this open enrollment period with the addition of two new insurance carriers. Molina Healthcare of Idaho and EMI Health will offer plans on-exchange for the first time, giving Idahoans more choice than ever before.
“This is an exciting year for Your Health Idaho and our customers,” said Your Health Idaho executive director, Pat Kelly. “Not only do we have two new insurance carriers and a record number of plans, but Idahoans are also seeing more savings than ever before thanks to the enhanced subsidies that are only available through Your Health Idaho.”
The Department of Insurance receives preliminary health plan information for the following year from insurance carriers by June 1 and reviews the proposed plan documents and rates for compliance with Idaho and federal regulations.The Department of Insurance does not have the authority to set or establish insurance rates, but it does have the authority to deem rate increases submitted by insurance companies as reasonable or unreasonable. After the review and negotiation process, the carriers submit their final rate increase information.The public is invited to provide comments on the rate changes. Please send any comments to Idaho Department of Insurance.
It's important to note that the rate changes on the actual tables posted on the Insurance Dept. site are rounded off to the nearest percentage. It's also important to note that when I click through to the actual rate filings and plug in the more exact averages along with the number of members to calculate the weighted average, I got slightly different numbers:
Now that I've developed a standardized format/layout & methodology for tracking both state- and county-level COVID vaccination levels by partisan lean (which can also be easily applied to other variables like education level, median income, population density, ethnicity, etc), I've started moving beyond my home state of Michigan.
Around half the 50 states (+DC) expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act starting in 2014. Since then, roughly half of the remaining states have also done so, either via executive order by the Governor, a new state legislature coming around or, most frequently, via statewide ballot initiative.
