News and Updates
20 million Americans have gained coverage thanks to the ACA
An estimated 20 million Americans have gained coverage as of May 1, 2014 thanks to the Affordable Care Act. These include young adults who gained coverage under parents’ policies, people who bought plans in the marketplaces, individuals who purchased coverage directly from insurers, and adults and children who enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.Read the release from HHS here.
You can also read the full report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
America’s Uninsured Rate is Declining
A new survey from the Commonwealth Fund shows that since people started enrolling in health coverage through the ACA, 9.5 million fewer adults were uninsured. The uninsured rate for people ages 19 to 64 declined from 20 percent in the July-to-September 2013 period to 15 percent in the April-to-June 2014 period.
10.6 Million People Helped By Assisters During ACA’s First Enrollment Period
The new Kaiser Foundation survey estimates more than 4,400 Assister Programs, employing more than 28,000 full-time-equivalent staff and volunteers, helped an estimated 10.6 million people with their coverage options during the first open enrollment period.
Automatic re-enroll will make it easy for people to keep Marketplace coverage
HHS announced it would be easy for people to re-enroll in their 2014 health coverage through the Marketplace in 2015 if they wished to keep the same plan. Keep your eyes out for a letter from HHS confirming your plan details with updated premium information.
Read the summary on the Enroll Nebraska blog here
Resources
- Nebraska-specific: This Nebraska profile by HHS details how the ACA is making a difference for Nebraskans.
- Medicaid: These consumer-friendly CMS Medicaid Fact Sheets answer basic questions of Medicaid eligibility.
- For assisters: From The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities: The Health Care Assister’s Guide to Tax Rules: Determining Income & Households for Medicaid and Premium Tax Credits
- Outreach and Enrollment:Enroll America’s new curriculum hub links to resources on hosting successful enrollment events, developing outreach plans, managing volunteers, and more.
- From the State of Enrollment Conference: The slides and session recordings from Enroll America’s State of Enrollment conference are now online. This is a great resource if you missed the conference or want to revisit any of the info.
Upcoming Events
Thurs, July 31st: Coffee & Coverage
Join Enroll NE in Omaha tomorrow for Coffee & Coverage from 8:30-10:00am at Urban Abbeyin downtown Omaha. We will recap the last enrollment period, address what’s coming up for the next enrollment period, and cover ways to get involved with your local health centers and Enroll Nebraska. Free and open to the public.
Mon & Tues, Aug 4th & 5th: CMS Medicare Webinars
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)Office in Kansas City is hosting two, half day educational sessions covering the different parts of the Medicare program. If you serve beneficiaries, or pre-retirees, or just need a better understanding of Medicare these webinars are for you.
Register here for Medicare Parts A and B on Monday, Aug 4th from 9am-12pm CST.
Register here for Medicare Parts C and D on Tuesday, Aug 5th from 9am-12pm CST.
These will happen monthly through December. You can view all dates on the Enroll Nebraska Events Calendar.