Welp. House Republicans did indeed follow through with passing their horrific (and disgustingly-titled) "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act which will effectively repeal the bulk of the ACA without officially repealing it, and that's just for starters.
The final vote was 215 - 214, with every Republican except a handful voting for it (and the two who voted against it openly admitted to the NY Times that they would have voted for it if their votes had been needed), and every Democrat voting against it. There were 2 Republican "no" votes...but both of those were only because they wanted the final bill to be even more draconian.
There's so many awful things included in the bill, many of which are of course healthcare-related, and it would take hundreds of blog entries to discuss them all...but I want to focus on one in particular.
For over a decade, State-Based Marketplaces have provided private health coverage to tens of millions of Americans, ensuring their health, well-being, and economic security. The Americans who depend on the Marketplaces include working parents, small business owners, farmers, gig workers, early retirees, and lower and middle-class individuals of all ages, political views, and backgrounds who drive our local economies and make both our rural and urban communities thrive.
The legislation under consideration in the House will severely impact the ability of these millions of Americans to continue to access this coverage and the health and financial security they depend on today. This will make for a sicker, less financially secure American public and strain hospitals and health care providers by increasing uncompensated care.
I thought I had finally wrapped up my ambitious Congressional district-by-district healthcare program enrollment pie chart project (for all 435 districts...actually 436 w/DC included). I knew I'd still have to update the numbers every few months, but at least the dust had finally settled on the layout and what info I'd include on each graphic.
With the pending dire threat to several of these programs (primarily Medicaid & the ACA) from the House Republican Budget Proposal which recently passed, I'm going a step further and am generating pie charts which visualize just how much of every Congressional District's total population is at risk of losing healthcare coverage.
USE THE DROP-DOWN MENU ABOVE TO FIND YOUR STATE & DISTRICT.
It was in early 2021 that Congressional Democrats passed & President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which among other things dramatically expanded & enhanced the original premium subsidy formula of the Affordable Care Act, finally bringing the financial aid sliding income scale up to the level it should have been in the first place over a decade earlier.
In addition to beefing up the subsidies along the entire 100 - 400% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) income scale, the ARPA also eliminated the much-maligned "Subsidy Cliff" at 400% FPL, wherein a household earning even $1 more than that had all premium subsidies cut off immediately, requiring middle-class families to pay full price for individual market health insurance policies.
Here's what the original ACA premium subsidy formula looked like compared to the current, enhanced subsidy formula:
DC Residents Can Get Covered at DCHealthLink.com from November 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025
(Washington, DC) – Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the 2025 Open Enrollment period will start tomorrow, Friday, November 1, and is encouraging DC residents to sign up for high-quality, affordable health insurance at DCHealthLink.com, the District’s online state-based health insurance marketplace. Open enrollment for individuals and families begins on November 1, 2024 and continues through January 31, 2025.
“Part of making sure that everyone in our community is getting the right care at the right time means getting more residents insured,” said Mayor Bowser. “We are making high-quality health care more affordable for more residents and using insurance to address disparities in health outcomes. We want Washingtonians to check out their options and get covered.
(Washington)– The District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) has received 193 proposed health insurance plan rates for annual review in advance of open enrollment for plan year 2025. The proposed rates were submitted for DC Health Link, the District of Columbia’s health insurance marketplace, from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Kaiser and United Healthcare.
The proposed rates are for individuals, families and small businesses for the 2025 plan year. Overall, the number of plans submitted for 2025 is down by 22 from those submitted for 2024. The number of small group plans decreased from 188 to 166 while the number of individual plans remained at 27.
DC Health Link Open Enrollment Runs Through Next Wednesday, January 31, 2024; Communities Can Attend Free In-Person Enrollment Events
Washington, DC– Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Health Link are reminding residents that there is one week left to sign up for high-quality, affordable health insurance through DCHealthLink.com, the District’s online state-based health insurance marketplace. Open Enrollment is now open for DC individuals and families and runs through January 31, 2024.
“There is still time to enroll in health insurance before the January 31 deadline. We encourage residents to visit DCHealthLink.com and select a health plan that is right for you and your family,” said Mayor Bowser. “In addition to our online enrollment service, there are a number of outreach events in the coming days where you can get in-person assistance enrolling in high-quality health plans.”
This is about as minor of an enrollment update as it gets, but for what it's worth, the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority posted this update a couple of weeks ago:
DC HEALTH BENEFIT EXCHANGE AUTHORITY Enrollment Summary
As of January 4th, 2024
INDIVIDUAL ENROLLMENT
Current Enrollment: 14,248
Enrollment 1 Year Ago: 13,941
CHANGE: +307
DC Health Link Open Enrollment Begins Today, Runs Through January 31, 2024; Monthly Premiums Start as Low as $13/Month
Washington, DC–Today, as the 2024 Open Enrollment period begins, Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Health Link encourage residents to sign up for high-quality, affordable health insurance at DCHealthLink.com, the District’s online state-based health insurance marketplace. Open Enrollment for DC individuals and families begins today, November 1, 2023, and runs through January 31, 2024.
“Making sure everyone in DC has access to comprehensive, affordable health insurance is one of the many ways we are working to keep DC healthy and our residents’ healthcare costs down,” said Mayor Bowser. “Whether you are uninsured and need a policy or are looking for a more affordable way to keep you and your family covered, there is a plan for you at DCHealthLink.com.”
