Medicaid data and the latest WA health exchange report
The deadline for enrolling in health insurance through the Washington Healthplanfinder for coverage beginning Jan. 1 was Dec. 23. In the weeks since then, the number of new qualified (private) health plan enrollments has been falling, as reported by the exchange this week. Through Jan. 9, QHP enrollments total 73,098 (27 percent of new enrollments […]
January 08 , 2014 - Emily Makings
No surprises in latest Healthplanfinder report
There are no surprises in yesterday’s Washington Healthplanfinder enrollment report. Enrollments in qualified (private) health plans (QHP) dropped significantly since the last report, but that’s to be expected given that Dec. 23 was the deadline to buy coverage beginning Jan. 1. Between Oct. 1 and Jan. 2, a total of 71,205 individuals enrolled in a […]
December 26 , 2013 - Emily Makings
Washington Healthplanfinder report shows qualified health plan enrollment still well short of projections
December 23 was the deadline for people to sign up for health insurance through the Washington exchange for coverage beginning January 1. The exchange released a new enrollment report on Tuesday, saying that 50,000 people enrolled just between Dec. 20 and 23 — of which 20,000 were in qualified (private) health plans. Since October 1, […]
December 12 , 2013 - Emily Makings
New details on who is enrolling in insurance through the WA exchange
As I noted last week, health insurance enrollments through the Washington Healthplanfinder have been driven by Medicaid. Today the exchange has a more informative report on enrollment activity through November. Some details on the 179,330 who have enrolled: 159,186 (88.8 percent) are in Medicaid. 20,144 are in qualified (private) health plans; of those, 79.1 percent […]
December 05 , 2013 - Emily Makings
Medicaid is still driving exchange enrollments, but private plans are also up this week
This week’s Healthplanfinder enrollment update shows significant increases in enrollment in qualified (private) health plans, newly eligible Medicaid, and immediate coverage Medicaid. Total enrollment through the exchange is now up to 176,468 (through November 28). Of those, 18,131 are in qualified health plans (10.3 percent). (According to the Seattle Times, “Officials project that about 130,000 residents […]
November 20 , 2013 - Emily Makings
Medicaid accounts for 88.1 percent of WA Healthplanfinder enrollments
The Washington Health Benefit Exchange has been sending out the numbers of people enrolled in health care coverage through the exchange (Washington Healthplanfinder) each week. The most recent release shows that 98,399 enrollments have been completed since the Oct. 1 launch of the exchange. Of those, only 11,742 (11.9 percent) are in qualified health plans […]
July 02 , 2013 - Emily Makings
Affordable Care Act's employer mandate delayed by a year
The Department of the Treasury announced today that it will delay implementation of the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act: First, it will allow us to consider ways to simplify the new reporting requirements consistent with the law. Second, it will provide time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems while employers are moving […]
June 11 , 2013 - Emily Makings
Washington may be agreed on Medicaid expansion, but not all states see the light
One area of agreement in the 2013-15 budget proposals is Medicaid expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act. Both the House and Senate assume state savings of about $318 million from expansion. Despite the promise of such savings, many states have rejected expansion or are still wrestling with the decision. According to the Kaiser Family […]
May 13 , 2013 - Richard S. Davis
Oregon Medicaid study inconclusive on benefits, warrants caution on expansion
We previously wrote on the results of a closely-watched Medicaid study in Oregon. Avik Roy has taken a second look at the results (we linked to his earlier piece also). He’s not encouraged. . . . the Oregon findings are even worse than they look. Here’s why. 1. 40 percent of those who ‘won’ the […]
May 06 , 2013 - Richard S. Davis
Florida legislature rejects Medicaid expansion; states seek flexibility
The Florida legislature rejected Medicaid expansion, despite support from Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Sara Kliff, writing at the Washington Post’s Wonk Blog, notes that Scott’s not the only Republican governor trying to persuade his Legislature to accept the money that comes with the deal. In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich (R) is having trouble moving the Medicaid expansion […]