Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Exchange Enrollment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Officials warn thousands could lose coverage after federal premium-tax-credit changes
Summary
The state exchange reported about 290,000 enrollment selections at the end of open enrollment and an estimated 40,000 mitigated coverage losses; staff warned an additional 30% enrollment drop (about 90,000 people) could occur if federal changes are not mitigated.
Leah Veil Marshall, delegate for the Exchange, told the board that open enrollment concluded with roughly 290,000 customers selecting coverage and that state and carrier mitigation efforts cut a projected larger loss to an estimated 40,000 net losses to date.
Marshall said the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits drove substantial premium increases for many consumers and that some groups were hit especially hard: lawfully present immigrants, people under 100% of the federal poverty level, and people above 400% of the poverty line who lost tax-credit eligibility. "We ended our open enrollment with about 290,000 customers selecting coverage," she said, adding that premium increases caused some enrollees to face doubled or tripled premiums.
Marshall cautioned that more changes from federal rulemaking could cause additional enrollment losses. She said, "if they are not mitigated, we expect another 30% enrollment loss" and that translates to an estimated roughly 90,000 more Washingtonians losing coverage absent further mitigation.
Separately, staff noted the legislature's February 4 committee cutoff for bills and March 12 as the scheduled last day of session; HCA staff said they are tracking multiple bills related to coverage, prior authorization, and revenue options. The agency is scheduling a public webinar on Feb. 26 to post updates and explain anticipated Medicaid and exchange impacts for affected populations.
Board members praised collaborative mitigation efforts between the Exchange, the OIC and carrier partners and asked staff to provide follow-up materials on coverage impacts and consumer experience at future meetings.
