4 DAYS LEFT OF OPEN ENROLLMENT – SIGN UP BY JANUARY 16
We are now less than one week away from the closing of open enrollment, ending on Tuesday, January 16. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), over 20 million people have already signed up for coverage through the Marketplace during this year’s open enrollment period, greatly surpassing last year’s total of 16 million! This highlights the importance of healthcare coverage for those transitioning from being unenrolled in 2023 from Medicaid coverage or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to a Marketplace plan.
If you need to change or enroll in a healthcare plan, make sure to visit HealthCare.Gov, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, or by calling 1-800-318-2596 to fill out an application by next Tuesday, January 16! For those who need assistance signing up for coverage via a Navigator, Certified Application Counselor, or agent or broker, visit HealthCare.gov or https://localhelp.healthcare.gov/. Thanks to the ongoing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, CMS expects 9 out of 10 enrollees to be eligible for savings!
A national snapshot from CMS broke down the cumulative 2024 open enrollment period plan selection data, with a total of 20 million enrolled, 3.7 million new enrollees, and 16.6 million returning to the marketplace.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that this year’s open enrollment period has reached record high numbers, being 24% higher than last year’s OE. This was most likely due to the millions who were unenrolled from Medicaid in 2023 were eligible for and enrolled in plans in the ACA marketplace.
The CHIRblog released their last Navigator Guide FAQ on “Wrapping Up Open Enrollment.” This FAQ established that those who enrolled by December 15, 2023, had coverage that started on January 1, 2024, and those who sign up by the January 16, 2023, deadline will have coverage that starts on February 1, 2024. Other topics on how to change plans during the open enrollment period and how to send premium payments were covered.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a new Medicaid/CHIP resource hub just in time for the last days of open enrollment, with communications materials and toolkits. “Nobody who is eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program should be disenrolled simply because they didn’t have enough information about the renewal process,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
As of January 11, over 14.3 million Medicaid enrollees have lost coverage, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. 34% of those who completed the renewal process were disenrolled and 26.9 million enrollees were able to qualify for renewed coverage. The large range of disenrollment rates in each state varies, with the highest of 62% being in Texas and the lowest of 10% in Maine. Out of all states with available data, 71% of all those disenrolled were due to procedural reasons.
The Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families reported on the latest data from the marketplace, emphasizing the importance of increased child Medicaid enrollment, continuous coverage strategies, and greater efforts in outreach and enrollment efforts for children and families.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a comprehensive “Unwinding Watch” highlights piece, from December to April 2023. Policy changes and developments in relation to the unwinding leading to open enrollment across the nation were covered.
Take part in the National Survey on Health and Disability, an anonymous and confidential survey that focuses on access to health care, insurance coverage, housing, transportation, long COVID, participation in the community, employment and more. Your experiences and opinions matter and are critical to include in this research that aims to inform and call decision-makers to action on issues that you and other people with disabilities care about. The survey can be completed online with a smartphone, tablet, computer or over the telephone with a project staff person. View the press release or outreach video for more information!
Review the NDNRC’s latest factsheet on assisting consumers with communication needs, complete with an accessible PDF version. This factsheet is intended to help Navigators who work with people with disabilities who have communication-related needs in the process of applying for health insurance coverage through the Marketplace. It also covers general and population specific strategies and guidelines on how to provide effective and accessible communication to consumers.
Navigators who work with people with disabilities should have all the resources that they need as it relates to enrollment in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace during Open Enrollment. These resources consist of a Disability Guide to help in identifying issues that are central to healthcare insurance for people with disabilities along with 17 topical and 9 population specific factsheets.
If you have not already gotten the message… visit HealthCare.Gov and #GetCovered by January 16!
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.