[Nfbmd] ACA information
Reyazuddin, Yasmin
Yasmin.Reyazuddin at montgomerycountymd.gov
Mon Dec 16 14:21:16 UTC 2013
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:
list of 1 items
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:
list of 1 items
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:
list of 1 items
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:
list of 1 items
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:
list of 1 items
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:
list of 1 items
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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