Access Health Special Enrollment Period Extended To Oct. 31

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The state has extended the deadline to apply for health insurance plans through the American Rescue Plan Act Special Enrollment Period to October 31. Also, as of July 1, some Connecticut residents that meet specific eligibility requirements can pay $0 for their health insurance coverage through Access Health CT, thanks to the new Covered Connecticut Program created by the state. To qualify for the Covered Connecticut Program, you must:

Have a household annual income that is greater than 160%, and up to
and including 175% of the federal poverty level.  Have at least one dependent child in the household under age 19; children age 18 must be a full-time student in secondary school. Be eligible for advance premium tax credits (APTCs) and cost-sharing
reductions (CSRs).

Access Health CT

Special Open Enrollment For Health Insurance Ends Aug. 15

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If you are without health insurance, you can find coverage during a special enrollment period that runs through Aug. 15, Access Health CT announced. The newly-approved federal American Rescue Plan is making health insurance more affordable by eliminating or vastly reducing monthly premium costs for people with low to moderate incomes. Even people with higher incomes who are enrolled in health insurance through Access Health, the state’s insurance exchange, may see their monthly premium costs reduced. The special enrollment period at Access Health CT runs from May 1 to Aug.

Access Health CT

Access Health CT Open Enrollment Begins Nov. 1; Eligible Consumers Can Sign Up Now

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As the state readies for open enrollment for health insurance beginning November 1, those who have lost their jobs or have recently moved to Connecticut can get coverage now through Access Health CT (AHCT). For those who don’t have a qualifying event for special enrollment—such as getting married, giving birth or adopting a child—open enrollment for 2021 health insurance plans begins Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15. Consumers can begin “window shopping” and comparing plans on Oct.

health care

State Extends Enrollment Period For Uninsured To Sign Up For Health Care Coverage

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The state has extended its special enrollment period for the uninsured in Connecticut to enroll in a health insurance plan, Access Health CT announced Thursday. Access Health CT’s two insurance carriers, Anthem and ConnectiCare, will be accepting new enrollments beginning now through April 17, according to spokeswoman Kathleen Tallarita. “No Connecticut resident should worry that testing or treatment will compromise their financial security,” said Gov. Ned Lamont, in an earlier announcement. “We are experience a moment in history that requires flexibility and innovative ways to access health care,” said Access Health CT CEO James Michel. The coverage obtained through the extended enrollment period will begin May 1, according to Tallarita.

Health Insurance Open Enrollment Begins Nov. 1; You Can Window Shop Starting Today

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Consumers will have the shortest open enrollment period yet to shop for 2019 health insurance plans – 45 days — but they can “window shop” and compare plans beginning today. Open enrollment for health plans effective Jan. 1, 2019, will run from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15, giving consumers the least amount of time to enroll in or renew plans since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law.

Disparities

Report: Many CT Consumers Don’t Understand Their Health Insurance Policies

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Many consumers who obtain insurance through Connecticut’s health care exchange don’t understand the plans they buy—and can struggle to access care as a result, according to a new report. Insurance plans typically use complicated language that is difficult to understand, according to the Health Disparities Institute, UConn Health. As a result, some patients have trouble accessing care, experience delays in care, encounter administrative hassles and face other hurdles, the study found. The institute conducted a statewide poll last year among 516 adults who enrolled in qualified health plans through Access Health CT (AHCT), the state health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act. Many struggled to understand basic insurance terms like “premium,” “deductible” and “co-pay.”

More needs to be done to educate all health insurance consumers, regardless of where they buy their policies, said Lisa Freeman, executive director of the nonprofit Connecticut Center for Patient Safety.

Inpatient Mental Health Coverage Rare For State Insurance Plans

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The state’s top insurers were more likely to approve claims for mental health services in 2015 than the year before, but rates of rejection for residential care remained high, a new state report shows. About 6.4 percent of claims for mental health services were rejected by eight top managed care insurers – down from about 8 percent in 2014 – according to an analysis of the 2016 Consumer Report Card on Health Insurance Carriers in Connecticut. At the same time, insurers continued to deny more than one in six requests for residential behavioral health care. And the percentage of managed care plan enrollees who received any inpatient services for mental health was low, with most companies providing such services for fewer than 0.3 percent of all enrollees. The analysis is based on eight companies that reported the same categories of data in 2015 and 2016 to the state Insurance Department, which changed the reporting format across the two years.

Access Health CT

Health Insurance Open Enrollment Brings Fewer Options, Higher Premiums

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Consumers can begin shopping for 2017 health insurance through Access Health CT (AHCT) starting Nov. 1, but they will encounter fewer options and steeper prices than in previous years. Now in its fourth year, the state’s health insurance marketplace looks different than it has in the past. Most notably, it has only two insurance carriers, ConnectiCare and Anthem, instead of four. State insurance regulators approved a 17.4 percent increase in ConnectiCare’s rates for exchange plans and approved a 22.4 percent rate hike for Anthem’s plans.

I-Team In-Depth

Report: Private Insurers Deny More Claims For Mental Health Care

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The rate of denials by the state’s largest managed care insurers of requests for mental health services rose nearly 70 percent between 2013 and 2014, with an average of about one in 12 requests for prescribed treatment initially rejected, a new state report shows. At the same time, the proportion of enrollees in the largest managed care companies who received outpatient or emergency department care for mental health doubled, from an average of 9.4 percent in 2013 to 20.8 percent in 2014, according to an analysis of the 2015 Consumer Report Card on Health Insurance Carriers in Connecticut, issued by the state Insurance Department. The percentage of members who received inpatient mental health care also doubled, although it remained low, with most companies providing inpatient services for less than .5 percent of all enrollees. The rise in rejections by the state’s 10 largest indemnity managed care companies – private health insurers, not including Medicare or Medicaid — came as state officials focused on improving mental health outreach and treatment, in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting in December 2012. The managed care organizations include companies such as Aetna Life Insurance Co., Anthem Health Plans, CIGNA Health and Life Insurance Co., and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co.

Fines & Sanctions

Access Health Enrollment Starts Sunday; Uninsured To Face Steeper Fines

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Open enrollment for consumers to buy health insurance through the Access Health CT marketplace begins Sunday, and 2016 will bring considerably steeper fines for consumers who lack insurance. Access Health CT (AHCT), now in its third year, enrolled close to 100,000 individuals in private insurance plans in its first two years, according to Andrea Ravitz, director of marketing. About 500,000 enrolled in Medicaid through AHCT, during the first two years. The marketplace aims to enroll between 105,000 and 115,000 in private plans by the end of open enrollment, Ravitz said. AHCT concentrated on attracting new enrollees its first two years but this year it has been focusing on retaining enrollees, she added.