[Md-sligo] ACA information

[Reyazuddin, Yasmin]

MHC_Dec 13 2013 UPDATE.pdf

3

UPDATE 

Report from the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange about Maryland Health 

Connection, the state-based health insurance marketplace 

BALTIMORE (December 13, 2013)—This week we are reporting a marked increase in 

enrollments, with nearly twice as many Marylanders enrolling in qualified health plans 

during the week ending December 7 as the previous week. This represents the most 

enrollments, by far, in a single week since the site launched. As we continue to work to fix 

the remaining technical and operational issues, we expect to see continued growth. We 

also want to remind consumers that if they are not seeking financial assistance, they may 

enroll in a plan directly through carriers. A link on the website directs consumers to this 

option. 

Meanwhile, information for thousands of individuals who have enrolled through Maryland 

Health Connection has been sent to carriers, and the first bills were mailed to customers 

this week. 

In addition, this past week we successfully converted 87,556 people in the Primary Adult 

Care program into full Medicaid benefits, effective January 1. These individuals -- low 

income adults who do not have children and were not previously eligible for full Medicaid 

benefits, will now automatically have full coverage. New Medicaid ID cards for those 

individuals should begin to arrive in the mail late next week. 

Highlights from today’s report include that, as of December 7: 

list of 3 items

 More than 77,000 Marylanders have created identity-verified accounts, and there have been more than 558,000 unique visitors to the website; 

 Enrollments in qualified health plans increased to a total of 5,179 individuals; and 

 Counting Medicaid pre-enrollments, new Medicaid eligible’s, and individuals who have selected qualified health plans for enrollment, nearly 110,000 Marylanders

are on track for coverage beginning January 1, 2014, under the Affordable Care Act. 

list end

Weekly Report 

From October 1 through December 7, 2013, there have been 558,399 unique visitors to the 

Maryland Health Connection website. 77,809 Marylanders have created identity-verified 

accounts. 

Through December 7, 5,179 Marylanders have chosen to enroll in private health plans 

through Maryland Health Connection. 

As of the end of November 2013, 87,866 Marylanders have signed up through the Primary 

Adult Care (PAC) program to be automatically enrolled in Medicaid coverage on January 1, 

2014. Through December 7, 16,496 Marylanders have been found eligible for a Medicaid 

program through Maryland Health Connection.1 

1 In early reports, we included Marylanders who chose managed care plans among “enrollments.” Because Medicaid 

coverage does not require plan selection (unlike coverage through qualified health plans), the eligibility determination 

is a better representation of anticipated insurance status than plan selection for this population. Some of these 

individuals may need to present additional documentation before coverage is effective, and others may turn out to 

already have Medicaid coverage. Actual new enrollment in Medicaid will be reported after January 1. 

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Combining new Medicaid, PAC Medicaid enrollment, and qualified health plan enrollment, 

nearly 110,000 Marylanders are on track to receive health coverage starting January 1, 

2014, under the Affordable Care Act. 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YaSZP5SK4gUyAJBND8QPbe5MS1ki_rSqo34oXnoZScKlu54PGaDhrCCtTFVri4FGBByOd_TF5be8rUYuZaeB5jSp5rbBGWsencRU-BCjTr2r97Mvbg7ZdsZNjw

Information for Users of Maryland Health Connection 

Many Marylanders are now able to navigate the website through the entire process; they 

can establish accounts, find out about eligibility for Medicaid and subsidies, shop for plans, 

and choose to enroll. Many of the technical glitches most frustrating to consumers have now 

been fixed, and we continue to work to address others that continue to cause difficulties for 

some Maryland consumers. 

As more people learn about their health coverage options and the consumer experience on 

the website improves, enrollment through Maryland Health Connection into more than 60 

medical and dental plans will increase. We anticipate that as many as three-fourths of 

individuals and families enrolling in private health coverage through Maryland Health 

Connection will qualify for tax credits and other assistance to reduce their costs. 

Options when having trouble: 

list of 4 items



Visit

the

 Consumer Information Update page

for important notices before beginning. 

These notices include advice on how to navigate some of the issues on the website 

as we work to address them. 

 Try again at a later time. At times of peak usage, heavy volume can still cause errors and delays. 

 Call the Consumer Support Center toll-free at 1-855-642-8572 to discuss the issue or start an application by phone. In response to high call volumes,

additional staff are being trained to provide additional customer support. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 am. - 8 pm., Saturday 8 am.

- 6 pm., and Sunday 8 am. - 2 pm. 



Talk to a

 consumer assistance worker

or authorized insurance agent for 

assistance. The link to contact information for connector entities in each of the 

list end

list of 1 items

State’s 6 regions can be found on the

 Prepare for Enrollment

page which is 

accessible from the landing page at the front of the website, or under the 

Individuals 

and Families

tab under the heading of “Consumer Assistance.” In-person 

assistance is available statewide through six Connector organizations and 50 

supporting grassroots organizations that employ 158 navigators and 171 assisters. 

list end

Feedback: 

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

If consumers using the site run into any issues and want to provide feedback, they 

can do so via the link found on the

 Consumer Information Update

page. Information 

from users is sent to Maryland Health Connection’s technical team working to 

improve the user experience on the site. 

list end

Website availability: 

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 As the technical team continues to improve the experience of using the website, it may from time to time be temporarily unavailable. In addition, in order

to perform routine maintenance, certain functions may be unavailable from 11 pm. to 5 am. daily. 

list end

Insurance Producers: 

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 More than two thousand insurance agents in Maryland have completed training to sell qualified health plans through Maryland Health connection. A weekly

communication to all authorized insurance brokers provides details about system updates and news to increase efficiency and address issues. 

list end

Spanish language: 

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 A Spanish language website will launch in two phases to meet the needs of Maryland’s Latino community. The first phase of the launch, which went live

in November, includes the information resources section of MarylandHealthConnection.gov where information, updates, outreach and resources are available.

The second phase of the Spanish language website expansion includes the application portal. This functionality will launch during the first quarter of

2014 and includes account creation, application, shopping and enrollment. 

list end

Accessibility for persons with disabilities: 

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 Consumer information materials will soon be available in Braille and large print. More information about when the website will be compatible for blind

consumers’ software will also be provided soon. Consumers seeking services for the deaf or hard of hearing may call the Consumer Support Center toll-free

at 1-855-642-8573. 

list end

Outreach: 

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

Outreach continues throughout the state seven days per week to educate 

consumers about their health coverage options. Grassroots outreach events are 

scheduled and available on MarylandHealthConnection.gov under the 

Calendar of 

Events

for consumers to visit and speak directly with navigators and assisters in their 

local communities. 

list end

Security of information on website: 

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 Maryland Health Connection, supported by experts in IT security at government agencies and through our IT team, has taken many steps to assure the security

of the data entered on the website. 

list end

Accessing information about health plan benefits, rates, and providers before 

creating an account: 

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

We have posted a webpage,

 Prepare for Enrollment

which provides information on 

plans, shows sample rates for a range of scenarios, and provides instructions on the 

documents needed for the application for financial assistance. In addition, a

 Provider 

Search Tool

which is accessed through a link on the “Prepare for Enrollment” page, 

allows consumers to search for a doctor and find out the plans in which their doctor 

participates. A link to this tool is also made available to consumers during the actual 

plan selection process. 

list end

###

 

Yasmin Reyazuddin 
Aging & Disability Services 
Montgomery County Government 
Department of Health & Human Services 
401 Hungerford Drive (3rd floor) 
Rockville MD 20850 
240-777-0311 (MC311) 
240-777-1556 (personal) 
240-777-1495 (fax) 
office hours 8:30 am 5:00 pm 
Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Braille 

This message may contain protected health information or other information that is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by return mail and destroy any copies of this material. 

Thank you.

 

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