According to today’s federal report, of the 26,617 Kansans who had applied through the marketplace through Nov. 30, 12,900 successfully completed applications and 1,855 had selected a plan.
Federal health officials reported today that about 1.8 million Americans completed applications for health coverage in the last two months using the federal and state marketplaces, including 12,900 Kansans.
“Evidence of the technical improvements to HealthCare.gov can be seen in the enrollment numbers,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a prepared statement.
Officials said November applications exceeded those in October, “four fold.”
Sebelius also was scheduled today to appear again before a congressional committee to update members on the status of the government’s insurance marketplace, which was beset with problems when it launched Oct. 1. Some of those problems continue, but there also are widespread reports of improvements.
Kansas navigators and consumers are among those who have noted greater ease of use and successes getting signed up.
Open enrollment in the plans continues to March 31 but those seeking coverage that starts Jan. 1 need to sign up by Dec. 23.
Medicaid applications also up
Medicaid officials across the country reported they were seeing more application volume at their agencies in the last couple of weeks as a result of the marketplace activities.
“All states surveyed are reporting increases in the number of applications arriving at the Medicaid agency. This is likely due to the approaching cut-off date to receive coverage beginning January 1st. The high level of media coverage focused on the Affordable Care Act is drawing the attention of potentially eligible individuals in all states,” according to an update released late last week by the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
According to today’s federal report, of the 26,617 Kansans who had applied through the marketplace through Nov. 30, 12,900 successfully completed applications and 1,855 had selected a plan.
Of those who completed applications, 2,353 were deemed eligible for Medicaid and another 7,210 were deemed eligible for other federal subsidies to help buy down the cost of the monthly premiums paid to private insurance plans offered through the marketplace.
Kansas officials said two weeks ago that they began receiving “flat files” from the federal government with information about those deemed eligible for Medicaid but that the information wasn’t complete, which meant state officials couldn’t begin enrolling the applicants in Medicaid, which in Kansas is known as KanCare.
And the information still remains incomplete, according to Miranda Steele, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the state’s lead Medicaid agency.
“While HHS has added more information to the flat file, these files do not include all account information,” Steele said in an email to KHI News Service. “At this time we’re reviewing the information within the files and will carry out the determination process when the full accounts can be transferred to Kansas.”
Steele said ultimate determination of an applicant’s eligibility for Medicaid still rests with the state.
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