The NDNRC wishes everyone happy holidays and a wonderful new year! The NDNRC newsletter will resume on January 10, 2025.
Remember that January 15 is the official end of open enrollment and the last day to enroll in coverage for the year. After this date, you can enroll in or change plans can only occur if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
As per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), review the latest CMS report, automatic reenrollment, a CBPP report on the enhanced premium tax credit, and more to stay informed during the last few weeks of open enrollment!
The NDNRC wants to make sure that people with disabilities are aware of potential changes to their healthcare with the new administration taking office starting January 20, 2025. The disability community utilizes Medicaid, and the ACA Marketplace plans at a higher rate than those without disabilities due to their unique needs.
By updating this newsletter with resources and educational pieces on where disability health policies stand, we hope to ensure that the disability community continues to have access to accessible and affordable healthcare coverage no matter what changes occur in the next four years.
The Kaiser Family Foundation covered key facts about the uninsured population, noting that there were 25.3 million people uninsured in 2023, with most being in low-income families, with a higher likelihood of those aged 19 to 64 years old being uninsured. This issue brief also covered why people were uninsured and financial implications of not having healthcare coverage.
The Commonwealth fund covered the lack of adequate and affordable health insurance in the Hispanic and Latinx population, finding solutions for not only this population, but all uninsured Americans. This would include permanently extending enhanced marketplace premium tax credits that will expire in 2025, removing medical debt from credit reports, lower out of pocket costs, and adjustments of premiums and cost sharing based on income.
The CHIRblog posted their November research roundup, which included Marketplace coverage for small businesses and those who are self-employed and other relevant health policy topics.
Use CMS’ partner tools and toolkits to conduct outreach for OE. This includes social media posts, images, scripts, themed weeks, webinars, and more! Outreach materials are available in multiple languages. Get covered or make changes to existing plans today.
The Young Invincibles have sample posts and graphics available in both English and Spanish for Open Enrollment. Find the resources below:
- Open Enrollment toolkit
- ACA4DACA Partner toolkit
- Week by week social media messaging calendar
- Graphics
As a part of our partnership with the CBPP, we have updated Factsheets 1 through 16, excluding Factsheet 6 in anticipation for Open Enrollment (OE). Read an overall summary of relevant factsheets on our blog here. People with disabilities can expect to find a plan for less than $10 per month – visit HealthCare.Gov for more information.
Keep up with vaccinations this flu season and be prepared with free at-home COVID-19 tests that are accessible for people who are blind or have low vision and those with low manual dexterity. Through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the United States Postal Service (USPS), test will be able to detect current COVID-19 variants and can be used through the end of 2024.
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.