I've included two of the key slides below, but there's a bunch of other demographic breakout stuff at the link above...financial assistance breakout, metal tiers, net premium data, etc.
The main number: As of 1/15/21, 374,776 PA residents had selected or re-enrolled in Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) for 2022. This is up 11.0% vs. last year's final OEP total:
Renewals: Up 17.0% y/y
NEW enrollment: Down 10.2% y/y
That final mini-enrollment spike in the last couple of days of Open Enrollment is worth noting:
I've included two of the key slides below, but there's a bunch of other demographic breakout stuff at the link above...financial assistance breakout, metal tiers, net premium data, etc.
The main number: As of 12/15/21, 357,212 PA residents had selected (or been auto-renewed into) 2022 Qualified Health Plans (QHPs). This is up 11.7% vs. the same point last year.
I can't overstate how much I wish every state was as good as Pennsylvania is at not only making their annual rate filings publicly available on the state insurance dept. website, but doing so in such a clear, simple format, while also including a consistent summary page for every carrier!
As a result of this attention to transparency and detail, I was able to put together my Pennsylvania analysis pretty quickly even though they hae a huge number of carriers on both their individual and small group markets.
Aside from Cigna joining the PA indy market, not too many surprises in the Keystone State this year...approved average indy market premiums are staying nearly flat overall (+0.2%), while small group plans will cost around 4.8% more than last year on average.
Wolf Administration Commemorates Pennie’s Two-Year Anniversary; Encourages Pennsylvanians to Enroll in Health Coverage
Deadline to Receive 2021 Savings on Health Coverage is August 15
Harrisburg, PA – The Wolf Administration today commemorated the two-year anniversary of Pennie, Pennsylvania’s state-based health exchange. To date, more than 335,000 consumers have enrolled for coverage through Pennie and, because of the American Rescue Plan, average premiums after subsidies have dropped by half since the beginning of the year, down to $86 a month.
Wolf Administration and Pennie Leadership Visit YMCA Health Equity Tour to Help Provide Affordable Health Coverage Resources, Health Services, and COVID-19 Vaccines to Pennsylvanians
York, PA – The Wolf Administration and Pennie leadership today provided information on health resources and affordable health coverage, as well as COVID-19 vaccinations to visitors during a YMCA Health Equity Tour at the York City Branch of the YMCA.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the health inequities across the commonwealth,” Pennsylvania Department of Health Acting Secretary Alison Beam said. “We are here at the York stop on the YMCA and Pennie Health Equity Tour to discuss a variety of educational health services and to encourage Pennsylvanians to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine today. We want to make sure all underserved communities are vaccinated and have an opportunity to enroll in affordable health coverage.”
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:
I've once again relaunched my project from last fall to track Medicaid enrollment (both standard and expansion alike) on a monthly basis for every state dating back to the ACA being signed into law.
For the various enrollment data, I'm using data from Medicaid.gov's Medicaid Enrollment Data Collected Through MBES reports. Unfortunately, they've only published enrollment data through December 2020. In most states I've been able to get more recent enrollment data from state websites and other sources.
Pennsylvania didn't launch ACA expansion until 2015. Once it ramped up, total enrollment (both ACA & non-ACA) hovered around the 2.8 - 2.9 million range until COVID hit. Since then, non-ACA Medicaid has gone up by 9.8%; the expansion population has grown by 29.8%; and overall enrollment is up 15.2%.
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.
Savings to the Rescue – Pennie is Now Open with Increased Savings
Pennie Customers Can Now See Savings When Shopping for Health Coverage
Uninsured Pennsylvanians will be able to receive significant savings in health coverage as a result of the American Rescue Plan
Harrisburg, PA – April 16 – As a result of the recent American Rescue Plan, also known as the COVID-19 relief package, provisions specific to the Affordable Care Act have impacted the way health insurance is available in Pennsylvania. These provisions include significant impacts, including an increase in savings, for Pennsylvanians seeking individual market coverage and those already enrolled through Pennie, as well as those who may lose their employment and rely on COBRA to maintain their employer coverage. Pennie is excited to announce that these savings are now available at pennie.com for those looking to enroll in quality, affordable coverage.
A few weeks ago, Pennie (Pennsylvania's ACA exchange), like several other state-based exchanges, put out a simple statement celebrating the passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the dramatic improvement in ACA affordability that it brings for the next two years. Like most of the other exchanges, Pennie's initial press release was pretty bare-bones, as the bill had just been signed into law and there were a ton of logistical details to be worked out.
Implement ARP provisions as soon as possible, and as broadly as possible, to maximize savings for Pennie customers
Automate these provisions, to the extent possible, to ensure that the benefits under the new law reach Pennie customers without requiring customer action
Ensure that customers who need to take an action are given specific instructions on what they need to do to maximize their benefits
Use this unique opportunity to connect more Pennsylvanians to comprehensive coverage and reduce the number of uninsured throughout the Commonwealth
