With the completion of Open Enrollment Year 8 (OE8) for the federally facilitated marketplace, CMS has issued its final enrollment snapshot for the 2021 plan year. This snapshot indicates that over 8.2 million people receive coverage through the federally facilitated marketplaces. This is approximately the same amount that received coverage for 2020, although the 2020 […] Read More »

Previously, we did a blog post which outlined which state-based marketplaces (SBMs) have extended open enrollment periods. While AAHD’s home state of Maryland does have a SBM, it did not have an extended open enrollment period. However, the Maryland SBM has recently announced that they are allowing additional enrollments through a Coronavirus Special Enrollment Period […] Read More »

A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected health insurance coverage. The report entitled “How Has the Pandemic Affected Health Coverage in the U.S.?” shows that employer-based coverage did drop as a result of the pandemic, but this may have been offset by increases in coverage through […] Read More »

Yesterday, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a report which looks at the need for Medicare and Medicaid to add dental, vision and hearing benefits which cover the programs’ beneficiaries. The report goes into detail about coverage for these three areas in both Medicare and Medicaid and how many individuals on these programs […] Read More »

This past Wednesday, CMS issued the proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for the 2022 plan year. The NBPP is the regulatory framework which CMS uses to operate the federally facilitated marketplace (healthcare.gov). Below are links to the relevant documents released by CMS on the NBPP. Comments on the proposed rules are due […] Read More »

A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation features the 20th annual survey of state Medicaid directors, which found that states expect Medicaid enrollment and spending to increase by over 8% each in FY 2021. The sharp increase reflects a decline in economic conditions and state budgetary concerns due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Officials believe that […] Read More »

While open enrollment for the ACA marketplace does not begin until November 1st, Medicare’s open enrollment begins today. CMS has released resources to help highlight the Medicare open enrollment as well as resources to assist consumers as they are going through the process. Links to these resources can be found below: Medicare Open Enrollment Period […] Read More »

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released their annual survey of employer health benefits. The 2020 Employer Health Benefits Survey shows that premiums continue to increase and the employee contribution along with it, including deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. Read More »