Obamacare sign-ups hit record in NJ as Murphy extends enrollment deadline for some – NorthJersey.com
More New Jersey residents signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year than ever before, thanks to the appeal of higher subsidies as well as the loss of job-based coverage during the pandemic.
To reach even more people, the state announced this week that lower income residents could sign up for subsidized coverage on Get Covered New Jersey, the state-run marketplace, at any time this year. People with incomes up to $25,760 for an individual and $53,000 for a family of four won’t be limited to the usual three-month window for open enrollment, which ended Jan. 31.
More than 324,000 New Jersey residents signed up for Obamacare coverage through Jan. 31, an increase of 20% over last year. Medicaid enrollment also increased by 9%, to 2.1 million in January this year — a sign that the safety net is strong and expanding, but perhaps the economy is not.
Higher enrollment in these programs may signal the erosion of job-based coverage in New Jersey, as the unemployment rate remains stubbornly above the national average. The December unemployment rate in New Jersey stood at 6.3%, compared with a national rate of 3.9%.
Gov. Phil Murphy cited the “Expanded Access” initiative as one of many steps his administration has taken, with the help of the Legislature, to make insurance affordable for more residents, especially during the administration of President Donald Trump, who worked to roll back various provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Actions in New Jersey to expand coverage included the creation of a state-run marketplace to replace the federal website to purchase health insurance and a requirement that every resident have health coverage or pay a penalty at tax time. The open enrollment period also has been doubled to three months for most people and outreach efforts have increased.
“We continue to take actions based on belief that health care is a right, not a privilege,” Murphy said.
About 6.4% of New Jersey residents were without health insurance in 2020, according to the U.S. Census, compared with 8.6% nationally.
The Democratic Governors Association, of which Murphy is vice-chair, went out of its way to praise his administration’s record enrollment and expanded sign-up period for the Affordable Care Act plans. “Gov. Murphy hasn’t stopped fighting to lower costs for working families,” the association’s senior communications adviser said In a press release highlighting his administration’s actions for a broader national audience.
This year’s Obamacare enrollees included some 30,000 people who became eligible for subsidies when the state, with the help of federal funds, raised the income threshold to six times the federal poverty rate — $77,280 for an individual or $159,000 for a family of four.
The enhanced federal aid from the American Rescue Plan — which capped premiums at 8.5% of income — will run out at the end of this year without congressional action. The Build Back Better Act would have extended the premium help through 2025.)
“All of this was made possible from the flow of increased subsidies from the American Rescue Plan,” said Laura Waddell, health care program director for New Jersey Citizen Action, an advocacy group for low- and moderate-income people. “That’s why it’s urgently important for Congress to pass legislation to make those subsidies permanent.”
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The state should also take steps to set up a basic health coverage program for lower-income people, Waddell said. Those plans, permitted under the Affordable Care Act, have lower premiums and cost-sharing. New York and Minnesota currently have such programs.
Lifting the enrollment deadline this year for the lowest-income residents will make it easier for them to sign up, especially if they are moving out of Medicaid because their income has improved. Those enrollees will pay very low or no premiums for coverage, said Marlene Caride, commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance.
The Expanded Access initiative “is a major step forward in our effort to promote health equity and continue to expand health care affordability and access,” she said.
Lindy Washburn is a senior health care reporter for NorthJersey.com. To keep up-to-date about how changes in health care affect you and your family, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: washburn@northjersey.com
Twitter: @lindywa
