Massachusetts Health Insurance Enrollment: March 2019 through February 2021

To provide more rapid insight into the impact of COVID-19 on insurance coverage in the Commonwealth, CHIA is producing monthly enrollment data summaries by key market sectors, in addition to its biannual Enrollment Trends reports.This publication includes enrollment figures through February 2021.During the pandemic, overall insurance coverage has remained relatively stable, with over 6.4 million Massachusetts residents receiving coverage from private commercial plans, MassHealth, or Medicare. 1 However, trends through February 2021 varied across these insurance categories.Private commercial insurance plans, which cover approximately 3.9 million Massachusetts residents, declined by 3.7% between March 2020 and February 2021.This decline occurred within both employersponsored insurance (ESI), where membership has contracted by 125,000 (-3.4%) since March, as well as individual purchasers, where enrollment decreased by 24,000 (-7.0%) over the same timeframe.ESI coverage declined in February (-0.4%) following a small membership increase in January.In February, individual purchaser enrollment experienced its first increase (+1.5%) since August 2020.The broader decline among individual purchasers since March 2020 has been driven by ConnectorCare plans, but this segment grew by 2.0% in February. 2,3 Between March 2020 and February 2021, the number of individuals with primary MassHealth coverage grew by approximately 180,000, or 15.3%.During this period, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) mandated Medicaid programs continue coverage for all beneficiaries enrolled on or after March 18, 2020 regardless of changes in beneficiary circumstances or scheduled redetermination assessments. 4 Medicare coverage, 5 which experienced a pause in growth in the second quarter of 2020, grew at more usual levels during the summer and fall of 2020.In February 2021 Medicare enrollment remained fairly level.Enrollment in SCO, One Care, and PACE programs for dually-eligible members had a similar pause in growth in the second quarter of 2020, but has rebounded for an overall increase of 7.2% between the start of the pandemic and February 2021. While unemployment claims increased dramatically in the early months of the pandemic, 6 ESI coverage inMassachusetts did not decline at a correspondingly high rate.This is consistent with findings nationally 7,8 and a number of factors could explain this apparent disconnect.For one, not all those claiming unemployment benefits had coverage through their employer, and for those that did, some were furloughed and may have maintained their coverage.Some already had (or could shift to) coverage through a family member's plan.Others may have signed up for coverage through COBRA. 9 Despite these mitigating factors, disruptions to economic activity may impact subsectors of ESI to different degrees, particularly as distinctions emerge between temporary and permanent job losses across industries. 10CHIA is continuing to monitor these developments to better understand the extent to which ESI and other insurance coverage may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Massachusetts Enrollment by Health Insurance Category, December 2019 through February 20211 Coverage is defined by unique Massachusetts residents in primary, medical membership within the top 12 commercial payers by enrollment, MassHealth (Medicaid), and Medicare.These counts reflect enrollment for Massachusetts residents and may differ from other sources that report enrollment by Massachusetts contract situs.Membership counts are not exhaustive for Massachusetts; excluded populations may include commercial payers and third party administrators with a small Massachusetts presence, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), TRICARE, Veterans Affairs Healthcare, the Indian Health Service, other federal programs, and prisons.This d ata should not be used to calculate a statewide insurance rate.2 Per the Massachusetts Health Connector: In response to the COVID pandemic, between March 15th and August 2020, the Health Connector did not terminate or downgrade anyone for failure to respond to a Request for Information; however, in late August and early September, overdue requests were closed out in advance of annual processes that create renewal year applications.Further, this annual redetermination process encourages members to update their applications.As a result, Health Connector membership shows more volatility in the fall of 2020 than earlier in the calendar year.3 Per the Massachusetts Health Connector: The Health Connector often observes shifts in unsubsidized and subsidized coverage in January for two main reasons: 1) When the Connector is not able to confirm through electronic data sources that a member continues to qualify for help paying for coverage, the Connector renews them without subsidies.Those members need to provide updated income information to regain subsidies.2) Opportunities to enroll in unsubsidized coverage are more limited during the year, so open enrollment serves as an opportunity for many to get coverage, whereas ConnectorCare members may have an easier time joining during the rest of the year.Note: a special enrollment period related to COVID relief has been extended through July 23, 2021. 4Medicaid.gov,6/30/2020: https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resource-center/downloads/covid-19-faqs.pdf 5 Medicare coverage here refers to Fee-for-Service (traditional) and Medicare Advantage plans.See data tables for additional information on these breakouts.

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.