One of the benefits of Path to Pennie’s design is that it connects people who are missed through other channels to affordable health insurance, says Antoinette Kraus, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network. “We know health insurance coverage literally saves lives when it gives people access to health care,” he said. University of Pittsburgh’s Coleman Drake, a health care markets researcher, says now is a good time for states to expand outreach efforts and make the most of those federal dollars. Despite going live less than a month before last year’s filing deadline, 564 Pennsylvania households selected a marketplace plan during the pilot another 211 signed up for medical assistance, such as Medicaid.Įnhanced health insurance subsidies, created in 2021 as a response to COVID-19, have also been extended through 2025. These projections are partly based on a pilot program launched in late March 2022. Pennie’s Zach Sherman estimates 2,000-5,000 Pennsylvanians will become insured through Path to Pennie in 2023. The program also pulled in a more diverse group of enrollees: Black Marylanders comprised 23% of the signups compared to just 17% during the regular open enrollment period. Maryland pioneered this approach in 2020, more than 4,000 tax filers enrolled in marketplace or Medicaid coverage. Pennsylvania is one of at least five states to use the tax-filing process to connect uninsured residents to their state-run insurance exchanges another four, including New Jersey, are in the process of standing up such programs. “To achieve that, we really need to find and connect with the uninsured and make sure they understand their options and have tools and services available to them.”īy opting into the program, tax filers trigger a so-called qualifying event that allows people to sign up for insurance outside the traditional enrollment period. “Our overarching purpose is to maximize the number of Pennsylvanians with quality, affordable health coverage,” said Pennie executive director Zach Sherman. The Path to Pennie program also sets up accounts for tax filers who then have 60 days to sign up for coverage, provided they meet certain requirements.įor example, a 35-year-old in Pittsburgh making $30,000 a year qualifies for a plan that costs about $70 a month. Open enrollment for subsidized health insurance is closed, but some Pennsylvanians can still qualify for coverage after they file their taxes this year.īy sharing their tax return information with Pennie, the state-run health insurance exchange, uninsured residents will get eligibility estimates for financial assistance. Now, it’s time to find better ways to interact with you and ensure we meet your high standards of what a credible media organization should be. The days of journalism’s one-way street of simply producing stories for the public have long been over.
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