The graph purported to break out "Obamacare applications by state for 2025" by states which voted for Donald Trump vs. those which voted for Kamala Harris in November 2024. Here's what it looked like:
As I noted at the time, this graph was technically accurate...while simultaneously being jaw-droppingly misleading, for several reasons, including:
Across 38 states, a total of around 19.5 million people have selected Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) via either the federal or state-based exchanges as of anywhere from 12/05 - 12/18. Collectively, this is roughly 16.6% higher than the same/nearly the same dates a year ago.
It's important to remember that Georgia moved from the federal exchange to its own state-based marketplace this year, which is why ~1.2 million enrollees have been subtracted from the 2024 HC.gov total. Note that the HC.gov numbers are rounded off to the nearest 100K, per CMS's press releases both years.
Customers who enroll on or before Jan. 15, 2025 will have coverage beginning Feb. 1, 2025
HARTFORD, Conn. (Jan. 6, 2025) — Access Health CT (AHCT) today announced the deadline to enroll in health and dental coverage starting Feb. 1, 2025 is Jan. 15, 2025. This is the final deadline for the 2025 Open Enrollment Period.
The Open Enrollment Period for Connecticut residents to shop, compare and enroll in health insurance or renew their coverage began Nov. 1, 2024. Customers may enroll in either health or dental coverage, or both.
AHCT is the only place state residents can get financial help to pay for their health insurance. Nearly 90% of customers received financial assistance last year. Some customers might qualify for the Covered CT Program. This program provides no-cost coverage for eligible residents.
Not only is New Mexico's exchange enrollment up a whopping 28% vs. the same point last year, it's actually already 16.6% higher than the 2024 OEP's final total of 56,472!
Not only is New Mexico's exchange enrollment up a whopping 29% vs. the same point last year, it's actually already 16% higher than the 2024 OEP's final total of 56,472!
The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange hasn't released any press releases since Oct. 31st, so the only official 2025 Open Enrollment Period (OEP) data I have for the state is from this snapshot report issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) back on Dec. 4th, which placed Maryland enrollment at just 30,270 people as of Nov. 23rd...plus another 185,438 current enrollees who were categorized as having been automatically re-enrolled, for a total of 215,708 QHP selections as of early December.
By comparison, by the end of the 2024 OEP, Maryland reported a total of 213,895 QHP selections, so it certainly looks like the Old Line State is running ahead of last year.
With that in mind, this article from WTOP News sounds about right, although the exact phrasing of some of the numbers make it a little confusing:
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace (OHIM) will release biweekly updates on plan selections through CoverME.gov, Maine’s Health Insurance Marketplace.
Plan selections provide a snapshot of activity by new and returning consumers who have selected a plan for 2025. “Plan selections” become “enrollments” once consumers have paid their first monthly premium to begin insurance. These numbers are subject to change as consumers may modify or cancel plans after their initial selection.
The deadline to select a plan for coverage beginning January 1, 2025 is December 15, 2024. Consumers who select a plan between December 16, 2024 and January 15, 2025 will have coverage beginning February 1, 2025.
(sigh) Goddammit. This isn't terribly surprising but it's still pretty disappointing.
As laid out in my prior (repeatedly updated) story about this ongoing saga, the eligibility of up to 100,000 or so uninsured DACA recipients to enroll in healthcare coverage via the ACA marketplaces has been bouncing back & forth for some time now. President Biden originally made a rule change to make them eligible to enroll back in May 2024. Unfortunately, earlier this fall a coalition of 19 Republican state Attorneys General filed a lawsuit to block the Biden Administration from enrolling DACA recipients, and the courts have ping-ponged their status a few times ever since.
Things were looking good a week or so ago when the 8th Circuit Court issued a stay on the injunction...but I just got the most recent ruling from the 8th Circuit Court, and it's bad news:
This morning, the Twitter account NewsWire_US, which claims to be a "U.S. and world news aggregator," posted an amazing-looking graph which purports to break out "Obamacare applications by state for 2025" by states which voted for Donald Trump vs. those which voted for Kamala Harris last month.
Here's the graph, which includes no further context (including any data sources...NewsWire claims it came from Reuters but I can't find the original link to a story by them with this graph) beyond making it look like a whopping 82% of ACA enrollees live in Trump states:
Update: Here's the original Reuters article, which was actually published on Dec. 11th, which at least explains why it only includes data through Nov. 16th/9th, anyway.
With Open Enrollment going on now through Nevada’s official health insurance marketplace known as NevadaHealthLink.com, there are less than two weeks left for Nevadans to get coverage starting the first of the new year. Nevadans must enroll in a plan by 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2024, for their health insurance coverage to be effective starting January 1, 2025.
Those who don’t enroll by December 31 will still have a chance to enroll in coverage through January 15, 2025, however, those who enroll between January 1 and January 15, 2025, will have coverage beginning February 1, 2025.
Open Enrollment began on November 1 and since then, over 30,000 Nevadans have actively enrolled in a plan, with 15,236 being new to enroll on Nevada Health Link. The Open Enrollment Period is the only time of year Nevadans can freely enroll in a health insurance plan through NevadaHealthLink.com without experiencing a qualifying life event, such as getting married, having a baby or moving.
