News Briefs

✦ On Jan. 27, the Supreme Court lifted an injunction blocking implementation of a Dept. of Homeland Security rule that makes obtaining a green card or entering the United States more difficult for legal immigrants who would otherwise qualify for federal benefits, including Medicare and Medicaid. A September 2019 Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report on the then-pending rule predicted that, if implemented, it could cause 2 million to 4.7 million people to disenroll from programs like CHIP and Medicaid “due to fear and confusion about the changes.” According to the report, “decreased participation in Medicaid would increase the uninsured rate among immigrant families, reducing access to care and contributing to worse health outcomes.” Read the KFF report at https://bit.ly/36yqsa9 and view the ruling at https://cnn.it/316FtPz.

✦ Covered California, the state’s individual marketplace, reported that 2020’s open enrollment period, which ended Jan. 31, has already yielded more new enrollees than 2019. As of Jan. 23, around 318,000 people new to the market had signed up for plans, beating last year’s total for the entire open enrollment period. California has stepped up efforts to advertise the individual marketplace and created a state individual mandate after Congress zeroed out the federal penalty for going without health insurance. Read more at https://bit.ly/2U5d0YK.

0

0

0 Comments

0

0

• Health Plan Weekly