Enrollment Assistance
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How Could Executive Action on Parents Reduce the Number of Uninsured Citizen Kids?
Here’s something that most news stories on President Obama’s Executive Order probably are not touching on — protecting several million parents from deportation is likely to reduce the number of uninsured kids – the vast majority of them citizens. As child health experts, we have pointed out for years that reducing the number of uninsured…
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Consumers Should Resist the Urge to Do Nothing and Renew Coverage through the Federal Marketplace
When enrollment reopens in the health insurance marketplaces in just a few days, the 7-8 million current enrollees will have an opportunity to make sure they get the right amount of financial assistance and are enrolled in a plan that best fits their needs for 2015. This new brief outlines the process for consumers in…
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Renewing Coverage Through the Federal Marketplace
This brief describes how consumers will update their eligibility for financial assistance and renew enrollment in a QHP through the federal marketplace. It’s a smart choice for consumers to update their information and compare QHPs, which includes new plan choices in many areas. However, most consumers can keep the level of premium tax credits and cost-sharing…
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New Online Resource Provides Answers to Common Health Insurance and Marketplace Questions
Over the past year, experts from Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms and Center for Children and Families have been providing support to Navigators and assisters under a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Our work includes back-office support to assisters in 6 states – Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Arizona, Arkansas and Michigan…
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Raising the Curtain on Open Enrollment, Round Two
The second open enrollment period for the health insurance marketplaces, or OE2, is mere days away. As I wrote in this blog and the related Health Affairs story, OE2 will be part sequel and part new production. Taking a peek behind the curtain, what can the audience expect on open day, November 15th? Outreach and…
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Open Enrollment 2: Experts Answer Tough Questions and Offer Advice to Help Navigators and Consumer Assisters
This week, Georgetown University experts from the Center on Health Insurance Reforms and the Center for Children and Families released a report from their ongoing project to support Navigators and consumer assisters. The project, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provides Navigators and other in-person assisters in six states – Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan,…
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States Putting In Place Delayed Medicaid Expansions Must Make Good Faith Effort to Ensure Nobody is Left Behind
Federal approval last month of Pennsylvania’s new plan to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on January 1, 2015 has brought urgency to this obscure but important issue. States that decide to expand Medicaid where the date of expansion occurs after the original January 1, 2014 ACA Medicaid and health marketplace start…
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Taking Stock and Taking Steps to Improve Consumer Assistance
A new report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation chronicles the challenges, innovations and lessons learned about the needs of consumers for assistance in accessing and using health coverage options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The report is compilation of feedback from the field, including a survey of…
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Overview of Immigrant Eligibility Policies for Health Insurance Affordability Programs
The Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, in partnership with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the National Immigration Law Center Presented in a Series of Assister Webinars Focusing on Coverage Eligibility and Application Process for Families that Include Immigrants sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Webinar 1: September…
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Open 24/7, Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Gains Top 7.2 Million
The June Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Report, released last week by CMS, shows that 7.2 million more people are now covered by Medicaid and CHIP than before the beginning of open enrollment last October. It’s not surprising that states expanding Medicaid have seen an 18.5 percent increase in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, while those opting…
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Navigator Resource Guide Helps Answer Consumers’ Questions about Health Insurance & Coverage
We at CHIR and CCF continue to field questions from Navigators and assisters as part of our Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded project to provide technical assistance and resources to assisters of all stripes. Though Open Enrollment is a distant memory and folks are gearing up for round 2 later this year, consumers continue to turn…
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“Peace of Mind”: professional dancers, the ACA, and affordable coverage
Professional dancers push their bodies for years to meet the physical demands of their work, which makes access to health insurance a high priority for these performing artists. A recent Kaiser Health News article examined the issue of health insurance affordability and access through the lens of a ballet dancer, highlighting the peace of mind…
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The Tax Rules that Health Care Assisters Need to Know
By January Angeles, Center of Budget and Policy Priorities “Navigators” and others helping people apply for health coverage need to understand basic tax filing rules because eligibility for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and premium tax credits for coverage bought through federal and state Marketplaces is based on Internal Revenue Code definitions of…
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All Enrollees Should Contact the Marketplace at Renewal
In recent guidance, CMS revealed its plan for the first round of financial eligibility redeterminations and marketplace plan renewals for the millions of people who enrolled in a qualified health plan (QHP) through Healthcare.Gov. A companion notice of proposed rulemaking would provide both the federal and state-based marketplaces additional flexibility as their systems evolve and mature.…
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Seven Steps to Improve Enrollment for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Community
By Naomi Stark, Georgetown CCF Research Assistant The Affordable Care Act provided an enormous opportunity for coverage of many immigrant and mixed status families eligible for premium tax credits in the health insurance marketplace. However, due to a variety of enrollment barriers, many of those eligible for these critical benefits are unable to enroll. Action for…
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How Cities Can Reduce the Number of Uninsured Children
By Dawn Schluckebier, National League of Cities After working with 12 cities for the last six months as they developed outreach and enrollment campaigns to increase enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP, we are excited to announce that we have selected 8 cities to continue on to the third and final implementation phase of our Cities Expanding Health Access for…
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6 Million More Enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP in 2014 (and still counting)
CMS released April enrollment numbers for Medicaid and CHIP, showing a net increase in enrollment of over 6 million people. The majority of new enrollees (84%) got coverage in the 26 states and D.C that have embraced the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid. Even though Medicaid is open 24/7 year-round, the impact of outreach…
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Open Enrollment – Take 2
The next Marketplace open enrollment will be part sequel and part new production! With a mere 166 days until show time, there’s much to be done to get ready for the next curtain call on November 15, 2014. First, a look back is in order because there’s nothing like a full dress rehearsal to learn…
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Lessons Learned from CHIP Can Apply to Next Phase of ACA
By Gene Lewit The open enrollment period for Marketplace coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has ended and supporters of the legislation are finished celebrating the accomplishment of exceeding enrollment goals despite a rocky start. Nonetheless, this continues to be an important time for ACA outreach and enrollment efforts. Enrollment in Medicaid and the…
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New Survey by Enroll America Provides Insights into ACA Implementation
A new PerryUndem survey commissioned by Enroll America and funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation contributes new information to the discussion about the Affordable Care Act. It’s a fairly extensive survey and I encourage you to read it in full if you have time. What I found most interesting was the positive response to…