Washington exchange enrollment appears to have leveled off
The Washington Health Benefit Exchange has released a report this week showing enrollment data from the most recent open enrollment period (which ran from Nov. 1, 2015 to Jan. 31, 2016). According to the report, 169,182 qualified (private) health plans (QHP) were purchased. Additionally, 1,522,342 were enrolled in Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) through the Exchange in March. […]
June 02 , 2016 - Emily Makings
State must pay for hepatitis C drugs, regardless of budget impact
Last week a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Health Care Authority (HCA) to cover hepatitis C drugs for all Medicaid clients with the disease — regardless of the drug's cost or how ill the patients are. As the Seattle Times notes, there is a relatively new hepatitis C drug that costs about $95,000 for […]
April 27 , 2016 - Emily Makings
What UnitedHealth's departure will mean for Washington's Exchange, and an update on open enrollment numbers
UnitedHealth announced last week that it will leave health insurance exchanges in at least 22 states, in an attempt to "stem losses from participating." One of those states is Washington. The Association of Washington Business quotes the Washington Health Benefit Exchange on the news: This change will likely have little to no effect on the […]
February 18 , 2016 - Emily Makings
How will the revenue and caseload forecasts affect the supplemental budget?
As Kriss wrote yesterday, a new revenue forecast has been approved. This forecast will inform the 2016 supplemental budget. On a near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways (NGFS+) basis, estimated revenues for the current biennium are $37.837 billion — a decrease of $78.2 million from the Nov. 2015 forecast (see page 28 here). The Office […]
February 02 , 2016 - Emily Makings
Final Washington exchange enrollment numbers not yet clear
Open enrollment for purchasing health care insurance through Washington's exchange ended Sunday. According to the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, "more than 200,000 Washingtonians selected a Qualified Health Plan" during open enrollment. (Unfortunately, the Exchange doesn't provide an exact number, so I can't yet update my enrollment chart.) Also, The number of plans selected is nearly […]
January 05 , 2016 - Emily Makings
Enrollments in Washington Exchange exceed its goal for the year
New enrollment figures from the Washington Health Benefit Exchange show that it has already exceeded its goal for the open enrollment period (which ends Jan. 31). Through Jan. 2, 173,947 qualified (private) health plans have been selected. Of those, 50,215 are new customers. The Exchange's goal for the entire period is about 160,000. Since the […]
December 08 , 2015 - Emily Makings
The first qualified health plan numbers for the 2015-16 open enrollment period in Washington are in
The third open enrollment period for qualified (private) health plans (QHP) under the Affordable Care Act began on Nov. 1. Today the Washington Health Benefit Exchange released the first batch of enrollment numbers. Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1, 123,209 plans were selected. Of those, 10,952 were new enrollees and 112,257 were renewals. According to […]
December 04 , 2015 - Emily Makings
Increased Medicaid spending a main driver of state spending nationally
Last month the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) released its annual State Expenditure Report, including actual data for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and estimated numbers for 2015. According to the report, Total state spending increased in fiscal 2015 at its fastest rate since 1992 due to a combination of modest growth in states' […]
October 28 , 2015 - Emily Makings
WA Exchange goal for 2015-16 open enrollment is 25% less than last year's goal
The third open enrollment period of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange begins Nov. 1. For coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2016, people must purchase coverage by Dec. 23, but the open enrollment period doesn’t end until Jan. 31. Last week I wrote about the most recent enrollment report. Through Sept. 30, 2015, enrollment in qualified (private) […]
October 23 , 2015 - Emily Makings
Has enrollment in the Washington Health Benefit Exchange plateaued?
A new Washington Health Benefit Exchange enrollment report shows that enrollment in qualified health plans (the private insurance plans offered through the Exchange under the Affordable Care Act) may have plateaued. The headline from the Exchange is “1.5 million Washingtonians Get Covered,” but that is mostly people applying for or renewing Medicaid. Total enrollment in private […]