For months I posted weekly looks at the rate of COVID-19 cases & deaths at the county level since the end of June, broken out by partisan lean (i.e, what percent of the vote Donald Trump received in 2020), as well as by the vaccination rate of each county in the U.S. (nonpartisan).
This basically amounts to the point when the Delta Variant wave hit the U.S., although it had been quietly spreading under the radar for a few months prior to that.
Now that we're a full six weeks into the Omicron Variant wave, I've updated my case/death rate tracking to reflect that as well...because the data so far is showing a completely new chapter as we enter the 3rd year of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The "start" of the Delta Wave was easy to lock in for my purposes; both cases and deaths from COVID had dropped off dramatically right up until around the end of June. The Delta Wave started showing up in the daily deaths pretty quickly as July started. The transition from the Delta to Omicron was a lot fuzzier, but I've decided to go with December 15th as my transition point.
I go by county residents who have received the 2nd COVID-19 shot only (or 1st in the case of the J&J vaccine).
NEW: Scroll down to also see 3rd/Booster shots, with some important caveats of its own.
I base my percentages on the total population via the 2020 U.S. Census as opposed to adults only or those over 11 years old (or even over 4 years old).
For most states + DC I use the daily data from the Centers for Disease Control, but there are some where the CDC is either missing county-level data entirely or where the CDC data is less than 90% complete at the county level. Therefore:
For Virginia, I've started using the official state health department dashboard due to some weirdness in the COVID Act Now data for VA. Unfortunately the VA Health Dept. dashboard doesn't allow you to export, view or download all 95 counties/city-counties at once, making this a tedious effort, so I'll only be updating Virginia once a month.
CMS Commits Over $49 Million to Reduce Uninsured Rate Among Children and Boost Medicaid Enrollment Among Parents, Pregnant People
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) committed a record $49.4 million to fund organizations that can connect more eligible children, parents, and pregnant individuals to health care coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Awardees—including state/local governments, tribal organizations, federal health safety net organizations, non-profits, schools, and others—will receive up to $1.5 million each for a three-year period to reduce the number of uninsured children by advancing Medicaid/CHIP enrollment and retention.
This week, HHS’s office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) is also releasing a report analyzing new survey data that showed the uninsured rate fell in 2021 after the American Rescue Plan and outreach efforts took effect. According to the report, the uninsured rate for U.S. population was 8.9% for the third quarter of 2021 (July – September 2021), down from 10.3% for the last quarter of 2020 – corresponding to roughly 4.6 million more people with coverage over that time period. Coverage gains occurred among both children and working age adults, with the largest coverage gains for those with incomes under 200% of the poverty level (roughly $27,000 for a single adult or $56,000 for a family of four).
January 10th was the last time that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a detailed 2022 Open Enrollment Snapshot report which broke out 2022 ACA enrollment across every state.
As of 1/10/22, it had already reached an all-time record of nearly 14.9 million people (13.8 million via Qualified Health Plans, or QHPs, and another million or so who have enrolled in Basic Health Plans (BHPs) in Minnesota and New York specifically).
A few days later, CMS issued another update just ahead of the official January 15th OEP deadline (in most states) which updated the top line QHP tally to over 14.2 million. They broke this out by "over 10 million" enrollees on the federal exchange (HealthCare.Gov), plus another 4.2 million or more in the 18 states which operate their own ACA exchanges.
Tack on the 1.0M BHPs and that's at least 15.2 million nationally.
EASY ENROLLMENT PROGRAM OFFERS HEALTH COVERAGE, FINANCIAL HELP TO MARYLANDERS WHO CHECK BOX ON TAXES
AFTER OPEN ENROLLMENT, STATE TAX FILERS WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO ENROLL THROUGH JULY 15
BALTIMORE, MD – For the third year, the Easy Enrollment Program, a partnership between the Office of the Comptroller of Maryland and Maryland Health Connection, will allow uninsured Marylanders to enroll in health insurance through July 15. The date coincides with the extended state income tax filing and payment deadline.
This innovative program allows Marylanders to check a box on their state tax return to share information with Maryland Health Connection. Within a week, the tax filer can expect a letter in the mail. This unlocks a 35-day enrollment window, starting from the date on the letter.
The mother of a Minneapolis man who died because he could not afford his Type 1 diabetes medication is asking Minnesotans with an urgent need for insulin to seek assistance through a state program that she helped champion.
In a new video called the “Alec Smith Story,” Nicole Smith-Holt urges anyone struggling to afford their insulin to sign up for the Minnesota Insulin Safety Net Program. Her son Alec died in 2017 at the age of 26 from ketoacidosis after rationing his insulin to make it last longer.
“I encourage anyone who has diabetes and struggling to afford the medication to keep advocating for yourself,’” Smith-Holt said. “I don’t want someone in an emergency like Alec was to be turned away at the pharmacy or start rationing their insulin. You have options.”
Nearly 200,000 Coloradans Signed Up for Health Insurance During Annual Enrollment Period
Special enrollment opportunities and enrollment assistance still available
DENVER – Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, reports that 198,412 Coloradans signed up for a health insurance plan by the end of the Open Enrollment Period. This is an increase of more than 18,000 enrollments, or 10 percent, above last year’s end of Open Enrollment total, and is the highest end of Open Enrollment total since Connect for Health Colorado opened for business in 2013.
In fact, 2022 OEP enrollment is up 10.5% y/y in Colorado.
Three out of four customers who signed up for a plan qualified for health insurance savings via tax credits. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, an individual can save an average of 52 percent on their monthly premium after financial help is applied.
For months I posted weekly looks at the rate of COVID-19 cases & deaths at the county level since the end of June, broken out by partisan lean (i.e, what percent of the vote Donald Trump received in 2020), as well as by the vaccination rate of each county in the U.S. (nonpartisan).
This basically amounts to the point when the Delta Variant wave hit the U.S., although it had been quietly spreading under the radar for a few months prior to that.
Now that we're a full five weeks into the Omicron Variant wave, I've updated my case/death rate tracking to reflect that as well...because the data so far is showing a completely new chapter as we enter the 3rd year of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The "start" of the Delta Wave was easy to lock in for my purposes; both cases and deaths from COVID had dropped off dramatically right up until around the end of June. The Delta Wave started showing up in the daily deaths pretty quickly as July started. The transition from the Delta to Omicron was a lot fuzzier, but I've decided to go with December 15th as my transition point.
So, I plugged in the latest COVID case & death rates at the county level as I do every week. I recently decided to switch from using the beginning of the Delta wave as my starting point (June 30, 2021) to using the "start" of the Omicron wave (around December 15, 2021 as far as I can figure) instead.
Last night, however (yes, I know I'm a nerd doing this on a Saturday evening), I decided to see what it looks like if I use June 30th as my starting point again, and this generated a pretty remarkable contrast which goes to show two things: First, just how insanely contagious the new Omicron COVID variant is; and second, how extremely effective the COVID vaccines are (especially with the 3rd/booster dose added to the mix).
Here's the updated county-level case rates across all 50 states +DC, broken out into 10 roughly equal populations by 2-dose vaccination rate (booster data wasn't available as of this writing):
I go by county residents who have received the 2nd COVID-19 shot only (or 1st in the case of the J&J vaccine).
NEW: Scroll down to see my first attempt at tracking 3rd/Booster shots, with some important caveats of its own
I base my percentages on the total population via the 2020 U.S. Census as opposed to adults only or those over 11 years old (or even over 4 years old).
For most states + DC I use the daily data from the Centers for Disease Control, but there are some where the CDC is either missing county-level data entirely or where the CDC data is less than 90% complete at the county level. Therefore:
For Virginia, I've started using the official state health department dashboard due to some weirdness in the COVID Act Now data for VA. Unfortunately the VA Health Dept. dashboard doesn't allow you to export, view or download all 95 counties/city-counties at once, making this a tedious effort, so I'll only be updating Virginia once a month.
Nevada Health Link Enrolls Over 100,000 Nevadans in Health Insurance During Open Enrollment
The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange marks its highest enrollment numbers during 2022 Plan Year Open Enrollment Period
(CARSON CITY, NV) – Over 100,000 Nevadans enrolled in health insurance during Nevada Health Link’s two-and-a-half month Open Enrollment Period (OEP) which ended Saturday, January 15. With a 25% increase in enrollments from last year’s enrollment period, this marks the largest enrollment cohort since the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange) began operating as a state-based marketplace in 2019.
Of the 101,409 total Nevadans who enrolled in health insurance plans through NevadaHealthLink.com, 20,897 were new enrollees, meaning they were not previously enrolled in health insurance through the Exchange. 27,717 were active re-enrollees, meaning they went to NevadaHealthLink.com to upgrade or change their current plan.
Over 66,000 Maine People Chose Affordable Health Plans for 2022 on CoverME.gov
Plan selections for the first year of Maine’s State-based Health Insurance Marketplace outpaced previous year by more than 10 percent
AUGUSTA— The Mills Administration announced today that 66,095 Maine people selected plans for affordable health insurance for 2022 at CoverME.gov, Maine’s new Health Insurance Marketplace, an increase of more than 10 percent over the previous year.
At Governor Mills’ direction, Open Enrollment ended on January 15, 2022, giving Maine people an extra month to browse and enroll in quality, affordable health plans. During this first Open Enrollment Period as a State-based Marketplace, which began on November 1, 2021, an additional 6,357 Maine people selected plans, surpassing the 2021 Open Enrollment period and reversing declines in Marketplace plan selections since 2017.
DISCLAIMER: HealthSherpa is one of the Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) ACA brokers which run banner ads on my site. EDEs are basically authorized private, 3rd-party versions of ACA exchange sites which have their back ends integrated directly into the federal exchange (HealthCare.Gov) (W3LL and Stride Health are the other EDEs which advertise here).
Having said that, I believe Sherpa is the largest ACA EDE out there, and they're pretty transparent about their enrollment metrics, so until CMS posts their latest official Weekly Snapshot Enrollment Report (which should happen soon), Sherpa's updates are pretty good indicators of how things are going overall.
It's important to remember to that Sherpa is currently only equipped to enroll people in the 33 federal exchange states (i.e., those utilizing HealthCare.Gov).
I've received a copy of Access Health CT's monthly board meeting slideshow, which includes the final 2022 Open Enrollment Period metrics and other demographic data. Here's some of the key points:
OE Enrollment/Eligibility Activity:
Started OE 9 with 107,058 enrollees (Up 8%)
112,634 enrolled into a qualified health plan (Up 7%)
47.5% eligible for APTC (Up 20%), 36.2% eligible for APTC/CSR (Down 6%).
Enrollees ineligible for financial help down 43%
24,773 determined eligible and completed application for Medicaid (Down 27%)
112,634 is the topline number. Last year's final OEP enrollment tally for Connecticut was 104,946 QHP selections, which means they actually ended up 7.3% year over year. FWIW, I think CT's all-time OEP enrollment record was 116,000 back in 2016.
This just in via the Massachusetts Health Connector (by email):
253,253 January effectuations
6,247 February and March effectuations
4,643 plan selections
264,143 total enrollments/plan selections
The above includes 22,729 new enrollments, which includes people who never had Health Connector coverage in the past, or who did, dropped exchange at some point, and have come back for 2022.
This is up around 2,000 since December 25th, but is still down over 10% from last year, making Massachusetts one of only 5 state exchanges to see QHP enrollment drop year over year (to be fair, there's still a few days left for MA as well as Kentucky, DC and New York. The fifth is Hawaii. Having said that, enrollments in the other four states only runs through anywhere from December 15th - December 25th, whereas MA's total is current through yesterday.
Health Insurance Sign-Ups Reach Record High at Get Covered New Jersey as Open Enrollment Deadline Nears
Total signups of over 300k are highest ever in NJ since the start of ACA marketplaces in 2014
TRENTON – Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride today announced that more than 300 thousand New Jersey residents have signed up for health insurance at Get Covered New Jersey (GetCovered.NJ.gov) so far during the Open Enrollment Period—an increase of 21 percent compared to last year. The number of residents signed up for coverage is a record high for New Jersey, with more consumers signed up for marketplace coverage than during any prior Open Enrollment Period since passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Expanded Cost Savings Fuel Record Health Insurance Sign-Ups Through MNsure
Over 134,000 Minnesotans found coverage through Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace during open enrollment period
ST. PAUL, Minn.—A record number of Minnesotans signed up for private health insurance plans during MNsure’s recent open enrollment period. 134,257 Minnesotans signed up for 2022 health insurance coverage through the state’s health insurance marketplace between November 1, 2021, and January 15, 2022. The record number of sign-ups is 14,988 more than in the previous year’s open enrollment period and represents a 10% increase.
I'd proceed with caution about this figure, however. The official CMS Open Enrollment Periord report seems to always come in a few thousand lower than MNsure's official QHP tallies. Last year, for instance, the CMS report put Minnesota at 112,804, around 6,400 fewer than MNsure's 119,269 total.
NY State of Health and New York State Department of Financial Services Announce Extension of Open Enrollment Period as Federal Public Health Emergency Continues
I've included two of the key slides below, but there's a bunch of other demographic breakout stuff at the link above...financial assistance breakout, metal tiers, net premium data, etc.
The main number: As of 1/15/21, 374,776 PA residents had selected or re-enrolled in Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) for 2022. This is up 11.0% vs. last year's final OEP total:
Renewals: Up 17.0% y/y
NEW enrollment: Down 10.2% y/y
That final mini-enrollment spike in the last couple of days of Open Enrollment is worth noting:
GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF OPEN ENROLLMENT THROUGH MARYLAND HEALTH CONNECTION AFTER A RECORD SEASON
More than 180,000 have enrolled for 2022, an all-time high and a 9% increase over last year
(JAN 18, 2022) ANNAPOLIS, MD – Gov. Larry Hogan today announced that open enrollment will continue on Maryland Health Connection through February in light of the ongoing public health emergency. A record number of Marylanders - 181,603 - have enrolled in coverage for 2022 through the state’s health insurance marketplace. A surge of new enrollees fueled the 9-percent increase over a year ago.
In fact, this is up 9.4% vs. last year, which itself was the previous all-tiime record for MD, I believe.
Donald Gerard McNeil Jr. is an American journalist. He was a science and health reporter for The New York Times where he reported on epidemics, including HIV/AIDS and the COVID-19 pandemic. His reporting on COVID-19 earned him widespread recognition for being one of the earliest and prominent voices covering the pandemic.
Trump Backs Boosters. Clearly, Someone Did the Math for Him.
Trump is losing hundreds of voters a day to Covid — far more than the margins in the swing states.
Math is not Donald Trump’s strong point.
Example: In 1988, he paid $408 million for the Plaza Hotel and spent millions making it gaudier. Seven years later, his creditors sold it for $325 million. And yet he styles himself a business genius.
For months I posted weekly looks at the rate of COVID-19 cases & deaths at the county level since the end of June, broken out by partisan lean (i.e, what percent of the vote Donald Trump received in 2020), as well as by the vaccination rate of each county in the U.S. (nonpartisan).
This basically amounts to the point when the Delta Variant wave hit the U.S., although it had been quietly spreading under the radar for a few months prior to that.
Now that we're a full month into the Omicron Variant wave, I've updated my case/death rate tracking to reflect that as well...because the data so far is showing a completely new chapter as we enter the 3rd year of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The "start" of the Delta Wave was easy to lock in for my purposes; both cases and deaths from COVID had dropped off dramatically right up until around the end of June. The Delta Wave started showing up in the daily deaths pretty quickly as July started. The transition from the Delta to Omicron was a lot fuzzier, but I've decided to go with December 15th as my transition point.
I go by county residents who have received the 2nd COVID-19 shot only (or 1st in the case of the J&J vaccine).
(data for 3rd/booster shots aren't available at the county level in most states yet)
I base my percentages on the total population via the 2020 U.S. Census as opposed to adults only or those over 11 years old (or even over 4 years old).
For most states + DC I use the daily data from the Centers for Disease Control, but there are some where the CDC is either missing county-level data entirely or where the CDC data is less than 90% complete at the county level. Therefore:
NOTE: I've started using the official state health department dashboard for Virginia this week due to some weirdness in the COVID Act Now data. Unfortunately the VA Health Dept. dashboard doesn't allow you to export, view or download all 95 counties/city-counties at once, making this a tedious effort, so I'm not sure how I'll deal with it going forward.
IMPORTANT: The official 2022 Open Enrollment Period has now ended in most of the country, but there's 8 states where residents still have time to #GetCovered, with their new healthcare policies going into effect starting either February 1st or March 1st.
The 2022 OEP is by far the best ever for the ACA coverage, with dramatically expanded financial help for millions more people (including many who weren't eligible last year), reinvigorated expert, unbiased assistance, more choices in many states and counties, and FREE policies for more people than ever before.
If you've never enrolled in an ACA healthcare policy before, or if you looked into it years ago but weren't impressed, please give it another shot now. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), it's a whole different ballgame.
Here's some important things to know when you #GetCovered for 2022:
Every year since the very first ACA Open Enrollment Period (OEP) in 2013-2014, at least a few of the state-based exchanges (and sometimes the federal exchange) have made last-minute deadline extensions. It's actually turned into a bit of a running joke with me.
The 2022 OEP has been no exception: Already during the 2022 OEP we've seen Idaho, New Mexico, Connecticut and Kentucky bump out their December deadline (for January coverage).
Sure enough, a couple of days ago the Kentucky exchange, kynect, posted the following:
Completed applications/redeterminations processed through the integrated eligibility system: 23,719
I'm not entirely sure what the 17,677 figure refers to, but I've confirmed that it's already included in the larger number.
Last year's final OEP enrollment tally for Connecticut was 104,946 QHP selections, which they're now 5.7% ahead of...with a day and a half left for CT residents to get covered.
Statement by CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure On the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision on Vaccine Requirements
“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is extremely pleased the Supreme Court recognized CMS’ authority to set a consistent COVID-19 vaccination standard for workers in facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. CMS’ vaccine rule will cover 10.4 million health care workers at 76,000 medical facilities. Giving patients assurance on the safety of their care is a critical responsibility of CMS and a key to combatting the pandemic.
“Vaccines are proven to reduce the risk of severe disease. The prevalence of the virus and its ever-evolving variants in health care settings continues to increase the risk of staff contracting and transmitting COVID-19, putting their patients, families, and our broader communities at risk. And health care staff being unable to work because of illness or exposure to COVID-19 further strains the health care system and limits patient access to safe and essential care.
Colorado’s Health Insurance Enrollment Period Ends January 15th
Free Enrollment Help is Available Statewide
DENVER – This Saturday, January 15th, is the last day of Colorado’s annual Open Enrollment Period for health insurance. Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, reports that more than 190,000 Coloradans have signed up for a health insurance plan so far.
That means Colorado is already up 5.8% over last year's final total OEP enrollment with 3 days left to go.
“Health insurance is a critical tool for families amid the ongoing pandemic,” said Chief Executive Officer Kevin Patterson. “If you don’t know where to go to get covered, start with Connect for Health Colorado. We have free enrollment assistance and are here to help you every step of the way. Don’t miss this opportunity to enroll.”
On Monday morning, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that total 2022 ACA Open Enrollment had reached an all-time high of 13.8 mllion people selecting Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) via the federal & state-based ACA exchanges. In addition, over a million more Americans had enrolled in the ACA's "Basic Health Plan" (BHP) programs in Minnesota & New York. Combined, this means that the 2022 ACA Open Enrollment Period (OEP) had enrolled nearly 14.9 million people as of late December.
In my blog post/analysis about this report, I concluded:
The big question now is how many more new enrollees will be added by January 15th (final deadline in 44 states), January 23rd (Massachusetts) or January 31st (CA, DC, NJ, NY & RI)? (Idaho is the only state which had their final deadline for 2022 Open Enrollment back in December).
Below you will find a summary of the Open Enrollment Period through week 9. The overview includes, but is not limited to:
application
plan selections
new enrollees
enrollees renewing coverage
call center volume
website traffic
In week ten of the 2022 Open Enrollment Period, over 44,000 New Mexicans have a plan selection, representing year-over-year growth. Over 36% of enrollees had in-person assistance (agents, brokers, or enrollment counselors). Individuals have until January 15th to enroll, and can opt in for coverage to start in January of February.
Final numbers, where accounts have been reviewed for errors or duplication, will be reported at the appropriate time after Open Enrollment.
MNsure, Minnesota's ACA exchange, just posted their monthly Board of Director's meeting slide deck, which includes, along with a bunch of other info, the latest 2022 Open Enrollment Period data:
We’re offering a Special Enrollment Period now through March 16 to those who have been impacted by the Marshall Fire or the current surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. In most cases, your health insurance will start on the first day of the month after you select your plan.
You can still get health insurance for 2022
You qualify to enroll in coverage now if you:
Are impacted by Colorado wildfires, including the Marshall Fire
For months I've been posting weekly looks at the rate of COVID-19 cases & deaths at the county level since the end of June, broken out by partisan lean (i.e, what percent of the vote Donald Trump received in 2020), as well as by the vaccination rate of each county in the U.S. (nonpartisan).
This basically amounts to the point when the Delta Variant wave hit the U.S., although it had been quietly spreading under the radar for a few months prior to that.
Now that we're several weeks into the Omicron Variant wave, I've decided that it's time to update my case/death rate tracking to reflect that as well...because the data so far is showing a completely new chapter as we enter the 3rd year of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The "start" of the Delta Wave was fairly easy to lock in, at least for my purposes, because thanks to the initial vaccination surge, both cases and deaths from COVID had dropped off dramatically right up until around the end of June. The Delta Wave started showing up in the daily deaths pretty quickly as July started, as shown below.
Washington Healthplanfinder Open Enrollment Ends This Week
Customers have until Saturday, Jan. 15 to select 2022 health care coverage
Olympia, WA: Washingtonians still seeking health care coverage for 2022 must act now to select a plan on Washington Healthplanfinder, the state’s online health insurance marketplace. The annual open enrollment period, which allows anyone to sign up for coverage, ends this Saturday, Jan. 15. Customers have until midnight on Saturday to sign up for coverage which begins Feb. 1.
Anyone seeking assistance signing up for coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder may contact the Customer Support Center at 1-855-923-4633; TTY: 855-627-9604. Throughout this year’s open enrollment period, Customer Support Center wait times have averaged less than thirty seconds.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that 13.8 million Americans have signed up for or were automatically re-enrolled in 2022 individual market health insurance coverage through the Marketplaces since the start of the 2022 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period (OEP) on November 1. This includes 9.7 million plan selections in the 33 states using the HealthCare.gov for the 2022 plan year, through December 15, 2021, the deadline for January 1 coverage.
I go by county residents who have received the 2nd COVID-19 shot only (or 1st in the case of the J&J vaccine).
(data for 3rd/booster shots aren't available at the county level in most states yet)
I base my percentages on the total population via the 2020 U.S. Census as opposed to adults only or those over 11 years old (or even over 4 years old).
For most states + DC I use the daily data from the Centers for Disease Control, but there are some where the CDC is either missing county-level data entirely or where the CDC data is less than 90% complete at the county level. Therefore:
NOTE: I've started using the official state health department dashboard for Virginia this week due to some weirdness in the COVID Act Now data. Unfortunatley the VA Health Dept. dashboard doesn't allow you to export, view or download all 95 counties/city-counties at once, making this a tedious effort, so I'm not sure how I'll deal with it going forward.
Completed applications/redeterminations processed through the integrated eligibility system: 20,969
I'm not entirely sure what the 15,618 figure refers to, but I've confirmed that it's already included in the larger number.
Last year's final OEP enrollment tally for Connecticut was 104,946 QHP selections, which they're now 3.6% ahead of...with one week left for CT residents to get covered.
MARYLANDERS HAVE JUST 10 DAYS TO GET HEALTH COVERAGE STARTING FEB. 1
Enroll in a health plan by Jan. 15
(BALTIMORE) — Marylanders can enroll in a 2022 health plan and get savings through Maryland Health Connection. until Jan. 15, 2022, for coverage beginning Feb. 1.
“We encourage all Marylanders to get their COVID vaccine, including their booster if they are eligible. All COVID vaccines are free,” said Michele Eberle, executive director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. “Because the virus is unpredictable, the next best thing you can do is get a health plan so you can be prepared for whatever happens. Give yourself the peace of mind that comes with having health insurance. Now is not the time to leave your health to chance.”
Below you will find a summary of the Open Enrollment Period through week 9. The overview includes, but is not limited to:
application
plan selections
new enrollees
enrollees renewing coverage
call center volume
website traffic
In week nine of the 2022 Open Enrollment Period, over 43,000 New Mexicans have a plan selection, representing year-over-year growth. Over 33% of enrollees had in-person assistance (agents, brokers, or enrollment counselors). Individuals have until January 15th to enroll, and can opt in for coverage to start in January of February.
Final numbers, where accounts have been reviewed for errors or duplication, will be reported at the appropriate time after Open Enrollment.
I go by county residents who have received the 2nd COVID-19 shot only (or 1st in the case of the J&J vaccine).
(data for 3rd/booster shots aren't available at the county level in most states yet)
I base my percentages on the total population via the 2020 U.S. Census as opposed to adults only or those over 11 years old (or even over 4 years old).
For most states + DC I use the daily data from the Centers for Disease Control, but there are some where the CDC is either missing county-level data entirely or where the CDC data is less than 90% complete at the county level. Therefore:
NOTE: There's several counties in Virginia where I'm using the official state health department dashboard instead this week specifically due to some weirdness in the COVID Act Now data. If these issues continue I may have to switch to the state dashboard for all counties for VA going forward, which would be a royal pain given the inability to export every county at once.
Last Chance to Enroll in Health Insurance through Nevada Health Link’s Open Enrollment
Nevadans have until January 15 to enroll in health and dental plans on NevadaHealthLink.com
(CARSON CITY, NV) – Nevadans have 10 days left to enroll in health and dental plans during the Open Enrollment Period (OEP) through NevadaHealthLink.com. Nevada Health Link, operated by the state agency, the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange), is Nevada’s online marketplace connecting individuals to affordable health and dental coverage. Nevadans have until 11:59 p.m. on January 15 to enroll in plans, with coverage beginning February 1.
Surprise bills happen when an out-of-network provider is unexpectedly involved in a patient’s care. Patients go to a hospital that accepts their insurance, for example, but get treated there by an emergency room physician who doesn’t. Such doctors often bill those patients for large fees, far higher than what health plans typically pay.
Don’t Miss Out! MNsure’s Open Enrollment Period Ending Soon
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Minnesotans looking for private health insurance have until Saturday, January 15, to enroll in coverage through MNsure, the state’s health insurance exchange. Minnesotans who enroll by the January 15 deadline will have coverage starting on February 1, 2022.
“Don’t miss out on your chance to get comprehensive health insurance in 2022,” said MNsure CEO Nate Clark. “This year there are more opportunities than ever before to get savings that can lower the monthly cost of your health insurance. Visit MNsure.org to find a plan that works for you.”
Most Minnesotans – including families with middle incomes – qualify for advanced premium tax credits that instantly lower the monthly cost of health insurance. Access to these savings is only available through MNsure.
Connect for Health Colorado Reports More Than 185,000 Health Insurance Sign Ups So Far
January 15 is the deadline to enroll for 2022 coverage
DENVER – As of January 1st, more than 185,000 Coloradans have signed up for a health insurance plan through Connect for Health Colorado during the annual enrollment period. This is an eight percent increase over the same time frame last year and exceeds last year’s end of Open Enrollment total of 179,661 sign ups.
That means Colorado is already up 3% over last year's final total OEP enrollment with 11 days left to go.
But there is still time to enroll. With the January 15, 2022 enrollment deadline approaching, Coloradans have less than two weeks left to choose a plan for coverage that will start February 1st.
More Than 65,000 Maine People Choose Affordable Health Plans on CoverME.gov
Plan selections strongly outpace the previous Open Enrollment period with two weeks remaining; 80 percent of consumers qualify for financial help, with average monthly savings of $518
AUGUSTA— Governor Janet Mills announced today that 65,005 Maine people have selected plans for affordable health coverage in 2022 during the open enrollment period now underway on CoverME.gov, Maine’s new state-run Health Insurance Marketplace, strongly outpacing activity during the prior open enrollment period.
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, an effort to bolster protection as schools reopen amid a surge of infections caused by the omicron variant.
The agency also cleared booster shots for children 5 to 11 with compromised immune systems. And it said anyone eligible for a booster could get the shot five months after receiving the second Pfizer-BioNTech shot, down from six months.
The FDA actions are expected to be reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its panel of outside vaccine advisers this week. Assuming the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is scheduled to meet Wednesday, signs off on the additional shots, CDC director Rochelle Walensky is expected to officially recommend them later that day.
Here's the weekly look at the rate of COVID-19 cases & deaths at the county level since the end of June, broken out by partisan lean (i.e, what percent of the vote Donald Trump received in 2020).
The partisan ratio of case rates are now only running 1.6x higher per capita in the reddest tenth of the country than the bluest tenth, down from 3.0x higher in late October, 2.4x higher two weeks ago and 2.0x higher just a week ago, reflecting how contagious the Omicron variant is in terms of infecting people even if they're fully vaccinated (death rates are clearly a very different story, however, as you'll see below):
