CLOSING THE MEDICAID COVERAGE GAP
Throughout the summer, we will be publishing the NDNRC Update on a biweekly basis.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has released a new series of state specific fact sheets which highlight the Medicaid coverage gap which exists in 11 states which have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These fact sheets detail the demographics of those individuals in the states which could be covered under the Medicaid expansion if the states were to expand. To learn more about these fact sheets or for a link to them, check out our news item.
CBPP also has a new blog post which examines potential policy changes which can be made permanent to help the Medicaid population retain or gain their coverage.
Another recent report on the Medicaid coverage gap is from the National Health Law Program (NHeLP). You can read the Executive Summary and download the report on the NHeLP website.
Of course, the Medicaid expansion was made possible due to the ACA and last month, the Supreme Court rejected the latest challenge to the ACA. If you missed it, check out our news item on that Supreme Court case.
In an effort to highlight the COVID Special Enrollment Period (SEP), AAHD has a project with Community Catalyst in conducting outreach to educate individuals about health insurance enrollment through the ACA Marketplace and Medicaid. This outreach includes graphics like the one below which highlight the opportunity to enroll due to COVID. These graphics are available in the Community Catalyst Outreach Hub. You can also check out the social media toolkit Community Catalyst created for the COVID SEP.
For more information about the COVID SEP and Medicaid expansion, you can check out some of our other NDNRC posts from the past few months, including last month’s blog post on the benefits of the Medicaid expansion.
- Blog post (6/2/21): Benefits of Medicaid Expansion
- Blog post (updated 5/20/21): States Extend COVID SEP
- Blog post (2/19/21): How is the COVID SEP Different?
- News item (6/15/21): CMS Highlights Benefits of ACA and COVID SEP
- News item (6/10/21): New Report Shows Record Enrollment under the ACA
- News item (3/25/21): COVID SEP Webinar Archived
- News item (3/23/21): COVID SEP Extended!
One of the changes in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was the availability of enhanced premium tax credits for people who had received or were receiving unemployment compensation during the COVID-19 pandemic. These enhanced premium tax credits are now available through healthcare.gov as of July 1. CBPP has a fact sheet and FAQ document which addresses all the changes to the marketplace as a result of ARPA.
Last week, the Biden Administration issued proposed rules for the ACA marketplaces. One of the big changes announced will be expanding the open enrollment period for the 2022 plan year by one month so it will run from November 1, 2021-January 15, 2022. To learn more or for links to the proposed rules, CMS press release and fact sheet, check out our news item. CMS will be accepting comments on these proposed rules through July 28. You can also read a summary of the proposed rules in the Health Affairs blog post.
Speaking of next year’s health insurance marketplace, the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) has a new blog post which takes an initial look at some of the 2022 premium rates being filed by insurance companies and the potential impact that COVID-19 has had on these possible premiums.
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.