OPEN ENROLLMENT ENDS TODAY
Today is the last day for open enrollment in the federally facilitated marketplaces (see below for more on deadlines in the state-based marketplaces). As of December 9, over 4.6 million people have enrolled in coverage through the marketplace, including over 1.3 million new customers. This also includes over 1 million consumers who were signed up during week 6 (12/2-12/9). You can read more about the enrollment numbers in CMS’s Weekly Enrollment Snapshot. To read more about what these numbers mean, check out the blog post by Health Affairs.
If you’re interested in materials to help with outreach for the final day, we have partnered with Community Catalyst on a project aimed at spreading awareness about the open enrollment period and the upcoming deadline (with tools like the graphic below). If you want to read more about this project, check out our blog post.
AAHD is partnering with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) on a project called the Consumer Assistance Coordination Hub (CACH). The CACH supports individuals and groups that provide enrollment assistance. To read more about this project, check out our blog post.
Are you planning for activities after the close of open enrollment? CBPP will be hosting a webinar as part of their Health Reform: Beyond the Basics series on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 2:00-3:00 PM ET. This webinar will address “Post-Open Enrollment Issues.” You can register here for that webinar.
As we reported previously, federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expired on September 30. While the federal government could still reauthorize CHIP funding, states have begun to recognize that the federal funding may not reauthorized soon and plan for the reduced funding. The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a new fact sheet which looks at what states are doing. To learn more or to download the fact sheet, check out our news item.
The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (MHBE) announced this week that it has extended the deadline for open enrollment to Friday, December 22, 2017. Previously, the MHBE was following the federal open enrollment deadline of December 15. States which run their own exchange can set their own open enrollment dates and some of these states have an extended open enrollment period for OE5. For a complete rundown of the dates for open enrollment in the state-based marketplaces, check out our blog post.
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) posted on their blog this week that some states are considering the option of a Medicaid Buy-In for individuals who do not have coverage but do not qualify for Medicaid. The current Medicaid Buy-In program offers health care coverage to people with disabilities who are working, and whose earnings and resources might otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid. To read more about the Medicaid Buy-In program for people with disabilities, check out our fact sheet.
The University of Washington, Healthy Aging & Physical Disability, Rehabilitation Research Training Center (RRTC) has released a new fact sheet entitled “How to Make Healthcare Accessible for All.”
Join the NASUAD Disability Business Acumen Center on December 20, 2017 from 12:30-1:30 PM ET as they present a webinar entitled “Execute your Plan: Developing Relationship with Potential Payers and Community Partners.” This webinar will be presented by the Community Involvement Programs (Minneapolis, MN) and describe how to become a trusted partner while maintaining the balance between mission and margin.
Are you looking for local partners to help with outreach to the disability community? The NDNRC has Community Outreach Collaboratives (COCs) which work to increase collaborations in the community, dissemination and outreach efforts and enrollment of people with disabilities in the ACA marketplace. You can find a COC, on the COC page of our website.
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.