Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Some States Report Enrollment Is Up And Brace For More Activity As Deadline Nears
Enrollment in the Maryland Health Exchange thus far has been climbing at faster rates than in previous years, while President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress have taken their first steps to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As of Monday, more than 465,500 Marylanders had enrolled in the Maryland Health Connection since it opened on Nov. 1, surpassing the 457,862 who had enrolled by the same date last year. The enrollment period ends on Jan. 31. (Schwartz, 1/26)
There are five days left to buy individual health insurance on the federally-run exchange and people who help others enroll are expecting a rush ahead of the deadline. In previous years the days leading up to the deadline — this year on Jan. 31 — have been among the busiest. Navigators, or people certified to help others navigate healthcare.gov, are expecting events to be bustling and people to call a statewide hotline. (Fletcher, 1/26)
The board overseeing Connecticut’s health insurance exchange voted Thursday to tighten the process for people to get coverage after the annual open-enrollment period, a response to concerns among insurers that people have been waiting until they get sick to sign up. The Access Health CT board also voted to require insurance companies to pay commissions to brokers who help customers sign up for 2018 coverage. This year, the two insurers selling health plans through the exchange stopped paying commissions, and the percentage of customers who got help from brokers fell from 50 percent to 25 percent, according to data presented at the meeting Thursday. (Levin Becker, 1/26)
Now as many as 120,000 Minnesotans could start seeing big drops on their health insurance premiums: around $310 million in taxpayer money will be spent throughout 2017 to give 25 percent discounts. The new law comes just a few days before the open enrollment period for 2017 health insurance ends on Tuesday, Jan. 31. State officials and lawmakers urged Minnesotans who had been holding back from buying insurance due to the high premium cost to now reconsider. (Montgomery, 1/26)
Frustrating. Irresponsible. Stressful. Crazy. Devastating. Asinine. The worst. Those are some of the words three Californians used to describe their recent experiences enrolling in — and paying for — health coverage from Covered California. The state insurance exchange is in the final days of its fourth annual open enrollment period, which ends Jan. 31, and it has been a burdensome one for many consumers. (Bazar, 1/27)
On Jan. 12, California Healthline Senior Correspondent Emily Bazar hosted a Twitter chat to discuss Covered California’s Open Enrollment period for 2017. (1/27)
