
The more than 99,000 residents enrolled through Connecticut’s insurance exchange have a better track record of paying their first month premium than consumers in 39 other states served by Healthcare.Gov.
In Connecticut, 9.6 out of 10 customers who purchased their insurance through Access Health CT paid their first monthly premium this year.
Two reports released Monday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that of the 12.2 million people who signed up for coverage through Healthcare.Gov, only 10.3 million followed through by paying their premiums to maintain coverage as of March 15. That means about 1.9 million consumers failed to pay their premiums and don’t have insurance.
While more Connecticut residents may be making the payments, many of those leaving Connecticut’s exchange have cited the high cost of coverage.
According to a survey commissioned by Access Health CT, of those consumers who decided to leave 44 percent were not covered by any type of health insurance. Rather, many became uninsured because of the high cost of coverage, according to the Market Decisions Research survey of plan participants.
There was another 50 percent of those surveyed who were able to find coverage through an employer sponsored plan. The 22-minute phone survey of 1,008 customers was conducted in the fall of 2016 and the results were shared with the Access Health CT Board of Directors at its April meeting.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Health Insurance Exchanges Trends Report, of the 39 states participating in Healthcare.Gov nearly 60 percent of the consumers who terminated coverage after paying premiums for at least one month indicated they obtained employer sponsored coverage.
Approximately 46 percent of consumers who canceled their coverage prior to paying their first month’s premium cited cost as the reason for cancellation. An estimated 20 percent who canceled coverage cited premium increases and 17 percent cited ineligibility for financial assistance, according to the report.
“Consumers are sending a clear message that cost and affordability are major factors in their decision to cancel or terminate coverage,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said Monday.
In March of 2016, 10.8 million people had effectuated coverage through the exchanges, and by the end of the year, only 9.1 million remained. The data on drops in effectuated enrollment shows that, on average since 2014, more than a million enrollees per year have dropped their coverage before the end of the plan year, according to the 2017 Effectuated Enrollment Snapshot released Monday by CMS.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said the reports show a decline in the number of Americans who have actually purchased coverage on the exchanges, with cost being a primary concern.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
Price, who was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump, has been seeking to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act since he was a member of Congress.
“Not surprisingly, as costs continue to go up, fewer Americans can afford to pay more and get less for healthcare,” Price said Monday in a statement on the reports.
More Health Care News & Analysis
Med Board Fines Doc $10,000
The state Medical Examining Board on Tuesday fined an Oxford doctor $10,000 for fraudulently using another doctor’s name and Drug Enforcement Agency registration number to prescribe controlled substances to a family member. In addition to the fine, board also voted unanimously to reprimand the medical license of the doctor, Marc D. Legris, and ordered him…
Keep reading
Clinical Trials With Immunotherapy Drugs Are Source Of Hope And Challenges In Treating Aggressive Breast Cancer
Joshalyn Mills of Branford and Nancy Witz of Kensington had the best possible results after being treated in clinical trials with immunotherapy drugs for aggressive breast cancer: Their tumors were eliminated. But while there are dramatic successes with immunotherapy drugs, there are also many failures, and researchers are trying to find out why in hopes…
Keep reading
Coalition of Health Insurers Questions Viability of Connecticut Partnership Plan
Members of Connecticut’s Health Care Future, a coalition of health insurers, hospitals, and businesses, are questioning whether Connecticut lawmakers have done enough this year to protect teachers and municipal employees from increases in health insurance premiums. “Despite repeated bailouts from taxpayers, the Connecticut Partnership Plan continues to be a fiscal Titanic that demonstrates why government-controlled health…
Keep reading
AG’s Tackle Mental Health Parity
Attorneys General in Connecticut and Rhode Island threw their support Monday behind a coalition of mental health advocacy groups asking a federal appeals court to revisit a recent ruling giving insurance companies more flexibility to deny mental health claims.
Keep reading
Budget Green Lights Psychedelic Therapies
Buried in the budget Gov. Ned Lamont signed this week is a provision that would create a pilot program to allow Connecticut to be the first-in-the-nation to study the impact of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and MDMA on patients with depression and PTSD. The budget now creates a pilot program within the Department of Mental…
Keep reading
Officials Highlight Effort To Boost Mental Health Services For Kids
At a Hartford-based community provider Wednesday, Gov. Ned Lamont and a handful of his agency commissioners highlighted the expected impact of more than $100 million in recently passed funding aimed at increasing behavioral health services for Connecticut children. The governor appeared at The Village for Families and Children, a recipient of new state funding included…
Keep reading