GET READY FOR OPEN ENROLLMENT YEAR 3 – KNOW THE CHALLENGE!

On Tuesday, HHS Secretary Burwell highlighted the previous accomplishments of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by referencing the new HHS data showing that 17.6 million people have coverage today due to the ACA. However, she also pointed out that there are about 10.5 million people who are eligible for coverage through the marketplaces and about 60% of them do not know about the tax credits or are unsure how they work. This demonstrates the challenge that navigators and assisters have in Year 3. To read our news item which has more details on the Secretary’s remarks and links to the HHS press release and data, click here.

If you want more state specific information about the uninsured rates, be sure to check out the data analysis done by National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) which compared the uninsured rates before and after the ACA marketplaces opened. Find out how your state fared by reading our news item here.

In light of all the good news regarding dropping uninsured rates, the Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms published a blog post this week entitled “The ACA Triggers Largest Decline in Uninsured since 1987: Now What?” To read this blog post, click here.

If you’re looking for ways to help you reach minority populations during your enrollment efforts, be sure to check out the webinar from the NIHCM Foundation on October 20 (3:00 PM ET). To learn more about this webinar and to register for it, click here.

As for webinars, Families USA is also hosting a webinar to help you prepare for Year 3 Open Enrollment. The webinar is entitled “Preparing for Open Enrollment 2016: Making the Most of an Enrollment Appointment” and will be held on October 1 (2:00 PM ET). To register for this webinar, click here.

Are you interested in what is happening with employer-based health plans? The Kaiser Family Foundation has just released its 2015 survey of employer-based health plans. To read our news item on the survey which includes links to the summary of findings and a Health Affairs journal article about the survey, click here.

Are you looking for local partners to help with outreach to the disability community? The NDNRC has funded eleven Community Outreach Collaboratives (COCs) for the second year of enrollment. The COCs will increase collaborations in the community, dissemination and outreach efforts and enrollment of people with disabilities in the ACA. To find a COC, click here.

To access the archives for our weekly updates click here.