On Tuesday, CMS released the list of navigator grants for Open Enrollment Year 4 (OE4). This is the second of a three-year grant for the navigators on the federally facilitated marketplace. To read the CMS press release on the announcement of the OE4 grants, click here. CMS has also prepared a summary of the grant recipients […] Read More »
What State Marketplaces are Doing with Tax Penalty SEPs
Last Friday, CMS announced that there would be a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for anyone who has to pay the “shared financial responsibility payment” also known as the tax penalty. Individuals who have to pay the penalty for not having coverage in 2014 and who do not have coverage for 2015 and attest that they didn’t […] Read More »
What State Marketplaces are Doing with Open Enrollment Extensions
Earlier this week, we reported that CMS was granting a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for anyone who encountered difficulty completing their application prior to the February 15 deadline. This only applies to the 34 states in the federal marketplace. So what about the 17 state-based marketplaces? Here’s a breakdown: California: Consumers have until February 22 to complete (only […] Read More »
Understanding Terminology Used by States in ACA Reporting
As you read reporting from different states on ACA enrollment, it is necessary to understand the specific terminology used as it can vary from state to state. A new report from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC), the State Health Exchange Leadership Network, the State Health Reform Assistance Network and the National Academy for […] Read More »
New Report Addresses the Issues in Pharmacy Benefit Designs
The Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms recently released an issue brief entitled “Specialty Tier Pharmacy Benefit Designs in Commercial Insurance Policies: Issues and Considerations.” A prescription drug benefit can be especially important for people with disabilities as they are considering their options in qualified health plans. This issue brief draws attention to how insurance companies have started treating prescription […] Read More »
HHS Releases Enrollment Data
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the latest enrollment data through March 31 which was the official end of open enrollment. These numbers include enrollment from the federally facilitated marketplace as well as the numbers from the state-based marketplaces. To read the news release from HHS, click here. The specific reports […] Read More »
DC & Hawaii Extend Deadlines
Previously, we reported that many of the states had extended the deadline for consumers to complete their application. Since then, two jurisdictions have provided additional extensions. Initially, DC Health Link was providing an extension until April 15, but they have since lengthened the extension to April 30. To read more, click here. Additionally, Hawaii gave no […] Read More »
March Enrollment Updates for State-Based Marketplaces
Many states which were running their own state-based marketplace are now releasing the reports for their enrollment up through the March 31 deadline. Here are the links to some of those states’ reports: Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Hawaii Kentucky Maryland Minnesota Nevada New York Rhode Island Read More »
Healthcare.gov Extension until April 15
What Does It Mean for the State-Based Marketplaces? Before the March 31 enrollment deadline, HHS had announced that consumers who started or attempted to start an enrollment application by the deadline would be given an extension of time to complete it. Last week, we posted an update on the specifics of that extension – that […] Read More »