Dive Brief:
- New York expects to get 470,000 residents covered under a new, low-cost health plan being made available for the first time this year, The Associated Press reports.
- State health exchange Executive Director Donna Frescatore, who testified at a state Assembly hearing last week, gave the estimate.
- The new coverage option is known as the Essential Plan, and was made available for states to offer under the Affordable Care Act beginning in this year.
Dive Insight:
New York could prove an interesting test case for this plan available under the ACA, given that it and only one other state - Minnesota - have intentions to offer it, according to Politico New York. It adds that enrollment is open throughout the year and that the majority of insurers offering plans on New York's exchange are offering an Essential Plan.
The Essential Plan is aimed at attracting those New Yorkers--numbering around 1.5 million--who remain uninsured post-ACA, often because they don't qualify for Medicaid but have been unable to afford a private plan. The Essential Plan has no annual deductible and has no premiums for those with incomes at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, or premiums of $20 for those with incomes up to 200% of the poverty level.
Experts suggest the main challenge in making the plan succeed will be in educating those who would benefit. Assuming they do, the plan is expected to save New York $300 million per year because many people who were receiving state-funded Medicaid will instead receive this federally subsidized insurance, according to Politico New York.