By John Haughey
The Center Square
December 7, 2020
Although open enrollment continues through Dec. 15, it is apparent more than 2 million Floridians will enroll in 2021 health care plans offered through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance exchange.
According to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Week 4 snapshot of the six-week 2021 open enrollment period, 871,361 Floridians secured policies offered through the exchange from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28. That’s a 7% increase over the first four weeks of last year’s open enrollment period, when more than 1 million Floridians purchased 2020 polices, the CMS reported.
CMS statistics do not distinguish between new signups, those changing plans and those automatically reenrolled in Obamacare health insurance plans for coverage beginning Jan. 1.
As one 12 states that has not expanded Medicaid under the ACA, Florida consistently has led enrollee counts in the HealthCare.gov platform since it was created in 2013.
Of nearly 4.2 million low-income residents enrolled in Florida’s $30 billion Medicaid program’s 17 managed care plans, 1.9 million in 2020 were covered by policies purchased through Healthcare.gov – and that was before open enrollment for 2021 began Nov. 1, according to the CMS.
Florida’s ACA enrollment accounted for about 20% of the nation’s 8.4 million Obamacare beneficiaries in 2019 and about one-quarter of the 8.3 million consumers nationwide who purchased ACA exchange policies in 2020.
According to CMS, Florida’s 871,361 enrollees between Nov. 1 and Nov. 28 far outpaced Texas (471,849), Georgia (198,090) and North Carolina (172,311).
As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc with the state’s tourist and hospitality industry, 2021 enrollment is projected to grow by as many as 500,000 policies, part of a projected 16.5% increase in Florida Medicaid enrollment projected to continue swelling through next year and topping out at nearly 4.6 million residents enrolled by Jan. 1, 2022.
Although the number of insurers and health management organizations (HMOs) participating in Florida’s health care exchange has grown from six several years ago to 10 in 2021, increasing competition and lowering policy costs, Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmeier has approved a 3.1% across-the-board premium hike for 2021.
Of the 10 insurance companies and HMOs participating in the 2021 exchange, only Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida provides statewide coverage. Celtic Insurance Co., the second-most prolific, offers policies in 63 of the state’s 67 counties.
Under the ACA’s health care exchange, individuals who earn between $12,760 and $51,040 annually can qualify for tax credits to subsidize the purchase of a health insurance policy.
A typical policy includes a health insurance plan worth $597 a month purchased by a consumer with a $533 monthly tax credit and $65 out-of-pocket monthly expense.
How enrollment grows in 2021 will, of course, depend on the state’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
More than 2.1 million state residents have received unemployment benefits since March. About half – 660,000 jobs – of Florida jobs “lost” since April have not been “regained,” according to state analysts who said slow job growth likely is to sustain increasing enrollment in Medicaid and ACA through 2021.
State analysts also said consumers are signing up in Florida for exchange policies after relocating from high-wage states such as California and New York and taking lower-paying jobs without health insurance or, as the CMS cited, because they fear the U.S. Supreme Court could strike down the ACA and its insurance marketplace.