Obamacare sign-ups surge in Michigan, uninsured rate hovers just above 5%
More Michiganders signed up for 2022 health insurance during the federal government's recent open enrollment period for the Healthcare.gov marketplace than any year since 2017, and the estimated number of uninsured people in the state continues to hover just above 5%.
New sign-up figures released Thursday for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, also known as Obamacare, show that 303,550 Michiganders signed up for health insurance during the 2022 open enrollment period stretching from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15.
That was up nearly 14% from last year's open enrollment numbers, which followed a shorter enrollment period that ended Dec. 15 in 2020, according to a federal report.
Nationwide, a record 14.5 million people signed up for a 2022 marketplace plan during the latest open enrollment.
Policy experts attribute this enrollment surge to temporarily more generous premium and deductible subsidies that came with the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan relief package that President Joe Biden signed last March. This subsidy expansion will expire at the end of the year.
“That was definitely the biggest change and why we saw such high enrollment this year,” said Samantha Iovan, a senior health policy project manager at the Center for Health and Research Transformation at the University of Michigan.
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The expansion made the tax credit subsidies available for higher-income people, and also lowered premiums and deductibles for many of those who were previously eligible for some subsidy.
Before, those with incomes more than 400% of the federal poverty line ($51,520 for individuals, $106,000 for a family of four) were ineligible for any subsidies. This year, those households could receive subsidies and not have to contribute more than 8.5% of their income when buying a "benchmark" Silver plan sold on the marketplace.
"Previously, you consistently would see people who were getting plans that were 20% of their household income," Iovan said. "So that was a big change that made more people eligible for subsidies."
This year, Michigan has the fourth cheapest "benchmark" plan premiums for individual policies, an average of $340 per month for the second-lowest cost Silver plan for a 40-year-old, or $7 cheaper than last year. The average for the U.S. was $438, down $14.
When accounting for subsidies, about 50% of people nationwide were eligible for a Silver plan costing $10 or less per month.
“The Silver plan provides what a lot of people consider the best coverage for the most affordable cost," Iovan said.
Uninsured rate 5.3%
The number of Michiganders without any health insurance was estimated at 5.3% in 2020, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates. That is essentially equal to the 2017 estimate, and well below Michigan's 11% uninsured rate in 2013, the last year before Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance coverage began.
Outside of the ACA's open enrollment period, people generally cannot sign up for a marketplace plan unless they experience a qualifying major life change. Those changes include moving, getting married, losing employer-sponsored health insurance when leaving a job and having or adopting a child.
One temporary exception this year to open enrollment rules is for those with low income, specifically 150% of the federal poverty limit or less. Those households have a rolling enrollment period that lasts through the end of 2022.
Those who qualify for Medicaid can enroll at any time of the year. For seniors, the initial enrollment period for Medicare begins three months prior to their 65th birthday and lasts for three months afterward.
Last year, the Biden administration reopened ACA marketplace enrollment from Feb. 15 to Aug. 15 because of the pandemic.
The uninsured rate for U.S. population was 8.9% in the third quarter of 2021, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services. Michigan has a lower uninsured rate than the national average in part because 12 states have chosen to not expand Medicaid eligibility.
Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollment in Michigan
2022: 303,550
2021: 267,070
2020: 262,919
2019: 274,058
2018: 293,940
2017: 321,451
2016: 345,813
2015: 341,183
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data
Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Obamacare sign-ups surge in Michigan, uninsured rate at 5.3%
