BISMARCK, N.D. – Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread has approved the rates for individual and small group health insurance plans compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Individual and small-group health insurance plans that are ACA-compliant are purchased through the Healthcare.gov exchange or licensed agents. Three statewide insurance carriers operate on the individual market, available via Healthcare.gov and through insurance agents. Five major carriers exist in the small group market, primarily purchased by employers of small businesses.
“We’re releasing these rates to give consumers who purchase their health insurance on the individual or small group markets an idea of what’s to come for 2024,” said Godfread. “The changes in rates this year are on par with previous years, with no big jumps or decreases in rates. When purchasing health insurance, or any insurance policy, shop around and look at different coverage options and find one that best fits your and your family's needs.”
In June 2023, 92,614,205 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
85,614,581 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid in June 2023, a decrease of 1,169,095 individuals (1.3%) from May 2023.
6,999,624 individuals were enrolled in CHIP in June 2023, a decrease of 32,449 individuals (0.5%) from May 2023.
As of June 2023, enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP has decreased by 1,304,004 since March 2023, the final month of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
Today, the Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) released a Data Snapshot Report, which shows the availability of affordable, Cascade Care plans are proving critical to keeping people covered and advancing equity during the Medicaid unwind.
Now that COVID-era protections have expired, Washington, like all states, has resumed regular annual eligibility checks for people covered by our state Medicaid program, Washington Apple Health. For the past year, the Exchange has joined partners across our state, led by the Washington Health Care Authority (HCA), to ensure Apple Health customers watch out for and respond to renewal notices.
The good news is that RateReview.HealthCare.Gov has posted the preliminary 2024 rate filing summaries for every state, making it much easier to pin down which carriers are actually participating in the individual & small group markets next year, as well as what the carriers average requested rate changes are in states which don't publish that data publicly (or which make it difficult to track down if they do).
The bad news is that in many of those states, acquiring the actual enrollment data is even more difficult, as their rate filings tend to be heavily redacted. Alabama falls into this category.
Consumers Can Preview 2024 Plan Options Now, Enroll Starting November 16, 2023
Marketplace Helps New Yorkers Stay Covered Throughout Pivotal Renewal Process of State Public Health Programs
State’s Uninsured Rate Drops to Record Low of Less than 5 Percent
Enhanced Federal Financial Assistance Will Remain Available for 2024 Health Coverage
ALBANY, N.Y. (October 4, 2023) – NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced the health and dental insurance plans offered through the Marketplace for the 2024 coverage year.
Enrolling Through MNsure Offers Great Savings on 2024 Health Insurance Plans
ST. PAUL, MN — Starting November 1, Minnesotans who need health insurance can sign up for 2024 coverage through MNsure, Minnesota’s official health insurance marketplace, where they can easily find, choose and purchase health insurance. MNsure’s open enrollment period begins November 1, 2023, and will run through January 15, 2024. Open enrollment is the annual opportunity to enroll in health coverage, change plans, and renew coverage.
MNsure estimates that Minnesotans who are eligible for tax credits will save $6,750 in 2024 and spend 5% less on private health plan premiums than they did this year, on average.
These significant savings are thanks to advanced premium tax credits, which act like an instant discount to lower the cost of monthly premiums – but are only available when you enroll in health insurance through MNsure. For example:
Every month for years now, the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) has published a monthly press release with a breakout of total Medicare, Medicaid & CHIP enrollment; the most recent one was posted in late February, and ran through November 2022.
In June 2023, 92,614,205 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
85,614,581 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid in June 2023, a decrease of 1,169,095 individuals (1.3%) from May 2023.
6,999,624 individuals were enrolled in CHIP in June 2023, a decrease of 32,449 individuals (0.5%) from May 2023.
As of June 2023, enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP has decreased by 1,304,004 since March 2023, the final month of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
Medicaid enrollment has decreased by 1,175,034 individuals (1.4%).
CHIP enrollment has decreased by 128,970 individuals (1.8%).
Between February 2020 and March 2023, enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP increased by 23,043,140 individuals (32.5%) to 93,918,209
Medicaid enrollment increased by 22,709,822 individuals (35.4%).
CHIP enrollment increased by 333,318 individuals (4.9%).
New CMS data, quietly released in late August, show about 178,000 consumers chose a qualified health plan (QHP) through a state or federal exchanges after losing Medicaid and CHIP coverage in the first two months of the Medicaid unwinding. Those sign-ups through the end of May are more than three times the 54,000 enrollments that CMS reported in July, which reflected only the April numbers.
Utah's preliminary 2024 individual and small group market rate filings are listed below. They launched a handy new website specifically dedicated to insurance filings, which is nice to see.
Unless there's a change in the final/approved rates, unsubsidized individual market plan premiums are increasing by around 11.4% in 2023, while small group plans will go up 10.5% on average (caveat: I had to estimate the actual enrollment numbers for two of the small group carriers, so the weighted average may be slightly off). Both market hikes are significantly higher rate increases than they were last year.
I should note that both Aetna and Imperial Health appear to be newly entering the Utah individual market next year.
UPDATE 10/04/23: The Utah Insurance Dept. has published approved rates for all individual & small group market carriers with one exception (Molina is still listed as "submitted," but they only have 0.6% of the total market anyway so any dramatic change to their final rates would be a rounding error at most statewide).
Overall most of the filings were accepted as is, although a couple saw significant changes: BridgeSpan had their 6.7% increase nearly doubled to 12.1%, while Regence BCBS was shaved down slightly, from 9.2% to 8.8%.
