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Posts tagged
'Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace'

Health marketplace bill advances

After more than an hour of debate, the House Insurance and Commerce Committee this morning approved the legislation proposed to merge the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace agency into the state Insurance Department.
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State Insurance Department must repay $1 million to feds on marketplace work

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr announced today that the state would have to repay $1 million billed to the federal government for expenses not allowed under a grant for a program to set up the health insurance marketplace in the state.
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More than 38,000 consumers covered on the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace (Tom Cotton would kick them off too)

We often mention the 211,611 who have gained coverage under the private option. Sometimes lost in the shuffle in these conversations is another group of Arkansans — around 38,000 people who have purchased health insurance on the newly created Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace, the health insurance exchange created by Obamacare.

Arkansas Insurance Department releases 2015 Marketplace premium rates

The Arkansas Insurance Department today released the projected 2015 premiums for the health insurance plans on the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace, the health insurance exchange created by Obamacare. These rates are still pending federal approval, which will come within the next month. We already knew the big picture: premiums in 2015 are falling 2.2 percent as compared to 2014 (by weighted average based on 2014 market share). What we have now are individualized rates so consumers can look at individual plans.
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The Long Weekend Edition

The latest in state political races, including all the drama in District 35 in Little Rock; good numbers for the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace; a new appointment to the state board of education; Uber in Fayetteville; Mark Darr’s debt to the state, and the resignation of the Jonesboro police chief — all covered on this week's edition.

More than 170,000 have gained coverage under private option; population continues to lean young

According to testimony today from the Arkansas Department of Human Services, 170,033 people through the end of April have been deemed eligible and gained coverage under the private option, the state's unique plan using Medicaid funds to purchase private health insurance for low-income Arkansans. This likely means that the policy has already made a significant reduction in the rate of uninsurance in the state. The private option has also made the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace as a whole significantly younger, which could help lead to lower premiums in the future.
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At least four carriers will sell statewide on Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace in 2015 (plus more data on 2014 Marketplace enrollment)

All four carriers currently offering health insurance on the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace are planning to sell statewide in 2015, the Arkansas Insurance Department announced today at a meeting of the Joint Public Health Committee. In 2014, only Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield and the national BCBS sold statewide. The expansion of Qualchoice and Ambetter means more competition and more choices in rural areas of the state. More carrier competition could mean lower premiums in the long run — which is also good news for the private option.

New Marketplace rule will impact all insurance carriers, not just Ambetter

I mentioned yesterday a new rule from the Arkansas Insurance Department that will help the Department of Human Services keep costs down for the private option in future years. The rule, included in a recently released bulletin to insurers from AID, requires that all carriers selling plans on the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace in 2015 offer at least one Silver level plan which only covers the ten essential health benefits (EHBs) mandated by the law (plans are divided into metallic levels based on coverage, with Silver medium-level). Important clarification from officials at the Arkansas Insurance Department: Ambetter wasn’t the only plan which offered Silver-level plans with benefits beyond the EHB – all of the carriers did. In fact, there was only one plan on the entire Marketplace that was EHB-only in 2014, and as it happens, it was one offered by Ambetter.
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Tom Cotton and the "repeal and replace" dance on Obamacare

The Washington Post highlights the Arkansas Blog's recent coverage of Rep. Tom Cotton, who offered a somewhat garbled message on health care. Cotton, of course wants to repeal Obamacare. But he declined to take a position on the private option, which depends on Obamacare for funding. And while he opposes Obamacare, now he supports the law's goals — "We want every Arkansan, we want every American, to have quality, affordable access to health care.”

State agencies aim to make sure private option plans only cover essential health benefits

A new bulletin from the Arkansas Insurance Department includes a rule that will help the Department of Human Services keep costs down for the private option in future years. This year, Ambetter, one of the carriers offering policies on the Marketplace, used a clever gambit that helped bring in customers but led to higher per-person costs for the private option. State officials are developing rules that will disallow the practice.
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Obamacare could attract more insurance carriers in 2015

With enrollment in the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act topping 7 million, Politico reports that "insurers see brighter Obamacare skies." More carriers and more competition could lead to lower premiums and more choices for consumers, as well as driving down the costs to the federal government of the subsidies to help low- to moderate-income people pay for their premiums.

Enrollment in Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace tops 40,000

Through April 6, 41,402 Arkansans have purchased plans on the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace, the new marketplace created by Obamacare, according to information released yesterday by the Arkansas Insurance Department (see county by county map above). As in the rest of the country, Arkansas saw a surge in enrollment recently, with more than 7,800 people signing up in the last two weeks. But while national enrollment in the marketplaces across the country hit initial projections, Arkansas will fall well short.
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