SEPs

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 11,000 people in the Eureka 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.
ASPE Logo

Moments ago I posted the news that the HHS Dept. (via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid) has confirmed what I wrote about nearly a month ago: Enrollment in ACA healthcare policies are at an all-time high, with over 31 million Americans currently covered by either ACA exchange plans, ACA Medicaid expansion or ACA Basic Health Plan coverage.

This news is based on a formal report issued by the Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation (ASPE). Let's take a closer look!

Health Coverage Under the Affordable Care Act: Enrollment Trends and State Estimates

Based on enrollment data from late 2020 and early 2021, approximately 31 million people were enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage related to provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the highest total on record.

KEY POINTS

ACA Signups Logo

A month ago I noted that by my back-of-the-envelope math, total enrollment in ACA healthcare coverage had likely reached 30 million people, concluding that:

#ACA Enrollment Is At An All-Time High Right Now Almost Any Way You Slice It.

I based this on a rough comparison of ACA enrollment in 2016 (which saw the highest ACA Open Enrollment Period enrollment to date, with nearly 12.7 million people selecting Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) during the official OEP) versus the most recent data available as of spring 2021.

My rough math was as follows (spring 2016 / spring 2021):

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.
  • An estimated 272,000 people in the Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto 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 May 31 so they can begin saving and benefiting from the new law on June 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.
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.
  • Hundreds of thousands of people in the Inland Empire, 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 May 31 so they can begin saving and benefiting from the new law on June 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.
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 136,000 people in the Central Valley, 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 May 31 so they can begin saving and benefiting from the new law on June 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:

New benefits make health insurance more affordable for more Minnesotans

  • MNsure enrollees are saving almost 20% each month on health insurance plans

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Minnesotans purchasing health insurance through MNsure are seeing increased savings thanks to recent changes to the Affordable Care Act made through the American Rescue Plan. MNsure is reminding Minnesotans in need of health insurance that they can sign up for coverage today through July 16 through the marketplace’s special enrollment period.

“The new and expanded financial help available only through MNsure can help lower the cost of health insurance by hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year for Minnesota families,” said MNsure CEO Nate Clark. “On average, Minnesotans who already have a plan through MNsure are seeing their monthly premiums reduced by almost 20%, which means you can have the peace of mind that comes with having health insurance, while keeping more money in your pocket.”

Access Health CT Logo

Unlike most states which kept their 2021 COVID Special Enrollment Period running continuously while they transitioned to the newly-expanded ACA subsidies, Access Health CT took a 2-week break in order to retool their website for the enhanced financial assistance.

During that break, I reported that the Connecticut ACA exchange enrolled 5,890 people via the SEP from 2/15 - 4/15, or roughly 98 per day, and that this was a rate 3.3x higher than the same time period during the typical pre-COVID era.

Access Health CT shut down their COVID SEP on 4/15, but then re-launched it with the new subsidy formula via the American Rescue Plan on May 1st. Since then, I've been informed, they've enrolled an additional 2,780 people through the exchange, or around 121 per day. That's 4x higher than the ~30/day they averaged in 2019.

MA Health Connector

Massachusetts Health Connector and member carriers agree to carry over out-of-pocket costs for mid-year moves to access new lower premiums on-exchange

  • Agreement allows carrier members to access to lower Health Connector premiums as a result of the American Rescue Plan without resetting deductibles in 2021

May 20, 2021 – All nine health insurance carriers who participate in the Massachusetts Health Connector have agreed to let their off-exchange members move from an off-exchange plan to an exchange-based plan mid-year without losing spent out-of-pocket costs in 2021. This flexibility can help Massachusetts residents access new lower-cost plans through the Health Connector.

Covered California Logo

This just in from Covered California...

Covered California’s Enrollment Surges as People Sign Up to Benefit From the New Financial Help and Lower Premiums Now Available Through the American Rescue Plan

  • More than 76,000 people signed up for health insurance during Covered California’s special-enrollment period between April 12 and May 15.
  • The surge is more than 2.5 times higher than a traditional special-enrollment period, reflecting an increase of more than 46,000 people, compared to the same time period in 2019.
  • Covered California launched a special-enrollment period to allow the uninsured and those enrolled directly through a health insurance carrier to enroll and benefit from lower premiums due to the American Rescue Plan.
  • More than half of the Covered California households which are benefiting from the new and expanded financial help provided by the American Rescue Plan are getting high-quality coverage for $1 per month.
  • In order to start saving, Californians need to enroll by May 31 so they can begin benefiting from the new law on June 1.

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