Massachusetts: Exchange QHPs jump from 15K to 25K; total exchange QHPs now projected at 6.3M

Eureka! Finally, some serious progress on the Massachusetts Mess front. Apparently the backlog of manual payment enrollments is seeing serious progress as people mail in their checks. As a result, MA's 15,140 exchange QHPs as of 3/19 have shot up to 25K. And yes, these all appear to be QHPs, not Medicaid (under any of the dozen Medicaid categores that Massachusetts seems to have), as all of those numbers are far, far higher than 25K.

I should further note that MA only reports enrollments to HHS if the first premium is paid.

In one shot, Massachusetts has gone from running 30% behind their February QHP rate to of three times higher, and my overall 3/31 projection has moved up from 6.26 million to 6.30 million.

Lefferts said some 25,000 people have enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans, with the bulk of those being former Commonwealth Choice enrollees, along with a small number of subsidized individuals from Commonwealth Care and about 2,000 people for new dental coverage.

He expects several thousand more to join the list in the next few days, though those who miss the deadline will need to find health insurance on their own until the next open enrollment period begins Nov. 15 unless they have a major life event such as the birth of a child, marriage or unemployment.

As deaconblues notes, "Another 10K of enrollees through the fast-path track (all paid for.) Given the process is completed by mailing a check to the insurance provider, I wonder if the 3/31 deadline becomes getting the letter post-marked by 3/31?"