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Evidence and mass casualty events“I sat among the dead, dying and those fighting for life, I ventolin online canada observed the pain and suffering and endured my own. I need to hear the truth to be able to move forward and I have to be there for those who didn't make it, they do not have a say in this, so I must speak up for them and for my own mental well-being, I cannot rest until the truth is told and evidence is shown to me…”I would urge all readers this month to consider carefully these words from an innocent victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. Among these harrowing words, we should be ventolin online canada mindful of the use of the word “evidence,” as we consider the theme of several of our papers in this addition of Mass Casualty Events. The first of these papers, our Editor’s choice from Dark and colleagues, considers evidence from a national trauma registry patient case series and hospital performance data from the Manchester bombing itself. In this ventolin online canada important work, Dark presents routinely collected injury, management and outcome data from 153 patients who attended hospital after this incident.

While this powerful data provides an objective evaluation of a system wide response and offers important learnings for systems moving forward, we should be mindful that the interpretation of what is evidence may be different for us as readers and most importantly the victims of such incidents. Objective numbers can never describe ventolin online canada pain and suffering. We discuss the ethical implications of the data presented within this manuscript, together with the outstanding community engagement work undertaken by Dark’s team within our accompanying editorial.Skryabina and colleagues, provide an alternative form of evidence in their mixed methods study involving interviews with healthcare staff who took part in responses to three terrorist attacks in the UK. It is pleasing to see patient and public involvement from victims again here, in informing interview design. With this work we can identify themes that will be helpful to systems in planning for such events such as effective team working, ventolin online canada communication and robust Major Incident Plans.

Although one interview quote stands out. €œWe underestimate the post-trauma of it and that’s the one thing I definitely took away from this event is we are not prepared for the stress and trauma it caused.” As the authors highlight, the need for psychosocial support after ventolin online canada such events is clearly underestimated. A Short Report, by Mawhinney et al, demonstrates through a survey of nearly 200 doctors working in hospitals across the UK, that having a Major Incident Plan in place does not necessarily translate to preparedness and knowledge in the handling of mass casualty events. There is certainly work to do in terms ventolin online canada of education here.Our final Mass Casualty Event themed paper this month takes an entirely different approach to evidence. By reviewing extensive written, photographic and video evidence from the Hillsborough Disaster (a crowd crush at a football stadium in the UK in 1989), Jerry Nolan and expert colleagues provide a unique clinical insight into compression asphyxia in their Practice Review.

Again, it is impressive to see engagement with the Hillsborough Families who gave permission for publication ventolin online canada of this potentially emotive manuscript.Safety and service organisationCurrent daily clinical work in Emergency Departments (ED) across the world continues to be pressured. Lynsey Flowerdew identifies some familiar risks in our practice, in survey work covering over 1000 UK clinicians. Risks posed by interruptions, negative effects of targets, deficient mental healthcare and ED crowding are identified but an encouraging safety culture is also revealed. Our Reader’s Choice also explores risks at a more granular level, in a prospective ventolin online canada observational study of risk events during intrahospital transport from Australia. While risk events occur in almost 40% of patient journeys, with many resulting in harm, prior preparation would appear to prevent poor performance.One initiative to mitigate risk in EDs that are facing unprecedented demands, continues to be the integration of primary care/general practitioners within an ED setting (GPED).

It is therefore a pleasure to see preliminary work ventolin online canada mapping GPED published in the EMJ, led by my colleagues from the University of West of England, Bristol, UK. While the majority of UK ED’s have adopted a GPED model, there appears heterogeneity in the type of model used and the relative effectiveness of these models remains unknown. There is more to come from this excellent project, that should ventolin online canada provide answers. In a similar vein, Lasserson and colleagues identify significant heterogeneity in referral rates (between 1%–21% of patients seen) from out of hours primary care to the ED using operations research methods. There is clearly still much work to be done to reduce variations in practice and maximise efficiency in this area.asthma treatmentAs we continue to see high volumes of patients with asthma treatment attending EDs across the world, work by Douillet ventolin online canada et al highlights limitations in current structural design of departments in France to facilitate robust organisational responses.

They showed that clinical guidelines are designed to fit an “ideal” rather than being more pragmatic for use in existing environments. Finally, an interesting Short Report from Davies and colleagues in Scotland explores the utility of exercise induced hypoxia in evaluating patients with asthma treatment and offers a standardised approach to this using a 1 min sit-to-stand test. Readers may want to put this into perspective by looking at the secondary analysis from the PRIEST study, published in the EMJ earlier this year, which found ventolin online canada post exertional oxygen saturations to be only a modest prognostic variable. Perhaps a standardised approach is key here." data-icon-position data-hide-link-title="0">Ethics statementsPatient consent for publicationNot required.There are certain events that resonate with all emergency clinicians, events that many of us hope we will never bear witness to and events that, unfortunately, some of us have. Mass casualty events are thankfully rare, with estimates in the USA of around 0.15% of all emergency service calls.1 However, in 2017 the NHS in the UK was faced ventolin online canada with an unprecedented number of such events, including the Manchester Arena bombing.

Each event poses new challenges in terms of environment, threats posed to staff and casualties and the injuries sustained.2 It is therefore important for ‘lessons learnt’ from mass casualty events to continue to be written up and published in a robust and scientific manner.3 However, at the centre of every mass casualty event are the patients themselves, those who may not survive, those who survive with life-changing injuries and those who are lucky to escape without physical injury but who suffer long-term psychological trauma as a result of events they witness. Authors of reports around mass casualty events therefore have a unique challenge ventolin online canada when presenting events in a way that is scientific yet considers ethical publishing in terms of patient consent, potentially identifiable data, considerations of impact of publishing on communities and inevitable media reporting. Editors and journals too have a similar responsibility to patients who are involved in such events. It is therefore a great opportunity for the Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ) not only to publish Dark et ….

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What a fun way to experience how to get ventolin some freedom in a time of pressing fear, grief, restrictions and disappointments.But I hesitated what is ventolin hfa 90 mcg used for. I’ve been to “toptional” pools in Las Vegas, so nudity wasn’t that much of an obstacle. But running naked?. It seemed so — what is ventolin hfa 90 mcg used for uncomfortable.

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} } Latest Updates. The asthma Outbreak Updated 2020-08-31T10:20:43.431Z The U.S. Has more than 6 million cases as President Trump retweets fringe theories on the ventolin. India now has the third-highest death rate from the ventolin.

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I kept getting the emails about this race, in a year flooded with bad news that had come very close to home. In March, four members of my family were sick with asthma treatment. In June, my brother was in the hospital for weeks after a driver struck him while he was on a bike ride.I’ve spent five months trying to find glimpses of joy in small, simple things, like the sight of a bird on the tree I planted last year, or the feel of my dog’s very soft ear. But the idea of a big, outlandish thing that might bump me out of my gloom had a certain draw.Ron Horn, the event’s organizer.

€œNot enough of us do things outside the box anymore, particularly as we get older,” he said.Credit...Michelle Gustafson for The New York TimesWhen a friend who lives in upstate New York said she was 90 percent willing to commit to making the trip to participate in this race, I thought maybe I should go, if for nothing else than to see her.“What else do you have to do?. € she asked.Sunny Rest was founded as a nudist resort in 1945 and, except for the lack of clothing, looks like a lot of other campgrounds, with mobile homes, cabins, tents and RVs. There’s a pool, spa, volleyball and tennis courts, hot tub, and hiking and biking trails. Most people go about their daily activities wearing nothing but shoes or sandals, maybe a hat.

It’s private property, so laws against public nudity are not an issue. Pretzel City has been putting on races there for 13 years.The events are meant to be fun, but the race organizers recognize that there is something of a taboo around nudity, so it anonymizes race results when posting them online, listing participants only by first name, last initial and home state. Knowing the privacy concerns, Pretzel City’s race director announced before the race that a photographer and I would be covering the event, and that we would include only those runners who consented to being photographed and interviewed.Several runners were eager to talk to me, including Bruce Freeburger, 69, who drove from Detroit to run this race. He operates the website naked5k.com.

Its slogan. €œI did wear shoes!. €â€œIt’s not ‘Girls Gone Wild,’” he said of naked runs. He believes that those who run nude tend to be “unselfish, and more sportsmanlike.”As soon as I pulled into Sunny Rest (after showing my ID and having the license plate of my car recorded by security), I saw a man in a wide-brimmed sun hat and no pants walking toward the pool.Runners in various states of undress on the course.

The more experienced runners knew to carry towels to wipe away sweat.Credit...Michelle Gustafson for The New York TimesBy the time I parked near the race start, I felt prim. Some runners were clothed, but most were in some state of undress. A woman breastfed her child while she checked in. A man waited to run in just sneakers and a Viking helmet — he hung his mask from one of the horns when he wasn’t near other people.

I saw my friend, already stripped down. She fit right in. I gave her an elbow bump and took off my shorts. It didn’t feel weird, at all.To prepare for the experience, I’d tried running completely naked on the treadmill in my basement, and determined that going braless was impractical for me.

So I took the Donald Duck approach and wore a hat and sports bra but no bottoms. When I checked in, I was handed a race bib and a T-shirt, but then a staffer — naked except for mask and gloves — wrote my race number with a marker on my leg. Where was I going to pin a bib anyway?. .css-1wxds7f{margin-bottom:10px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:0.875rem;line-height:1.25rem;color:#333 !.

Important;}.css-2al2sh{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.25rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:5px;font-weight:700;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-2al2sh{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-2al2sh{margin-bottom:10px;}}.css-1yyoic1{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.25rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1yyoic1{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-zkk2wn{margin-bottom:20px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.875rem;line-height:1.5625rem;color:#333;}.css-1dvfdxo{margin:10px auto 0px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.5625rem;color:#121212;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1dvfdxo{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}.css-16ed7iq{width:100%;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-box-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;justify-content:center;padding:10px 0;background-color:white;}.css-pmm6ed{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}.css-pmm6ed > :not(:first-child){margin-left:5px;}.css-5gimkt{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.03em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.03em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.03em;letter-spacing:0.03em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#333;}.css-5gimkt:after{content:'Collapse';}.css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;-webkit-transform:rotate(180deg);-ms-transform:rotate(180deg);transform:rotate(180deg);}.css-eb027h{max-height:5000px;-webkit-transition:max-height 0.5s ease;transition:max-height 0.5s ease;}.css-6mllg9{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;position:relative;opacity:0;}.css-6mllg9:before{content:'';background-image:linear-gradient(180deg,transparent,#ffffff);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(270deg,rgba(255,255,255,0),#ffffff);height:80px;width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0px;pointer-events:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}.css-19mumt8{background-color:white;margin:30px 0;padding:0 20px;max-width:510px;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-19mumt8{margin:40px auto;}}.css-19mumt8:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}.css-19mumt8 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:2px solid #ccd9e3;}.css-19mumt8 a:visited{color:#333;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:2px solid #ddd;}.css-19mumt8 a:hover{border-bottom:none;}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:'See more';}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-a8d9oz{border-top:5px solid #121212;border-bottom:2px solid #121212;margin:0 auto;padding:5px 0 0;overflow:hidden;}The asthma Outbreak ›Frequently Asked QuestionsUpdated August 27, 2020What should I consider when choosing a mask?. There are a few basic things to consider. Does it have at least two layers?. Good.

If you hold it up to the light, can you see through it?. Bad. Can you blow a candle out through your mask?. Bad.

Do you feel mostly OK wearing it for hours at a time?. Good. The most important thing, after finding a mask that fits well without gapping, is to find a mask that you will wear. Spend some time picking out your mask, and find something that works with your personal style.

You should be wearing it whenever you’re out in public for the foreseeable future. Read more. What’s the Best Material for a Mask?. What are the symptoms of asthma?.

In the beginning, the asthma seemed like it was primarily a respiratory illness — many patients had fever and chills, were weak and tired, and coughed a lot, though some people don’t show many symptoms at all. Those who seemed sickest had pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome and received supplemental oxygen. By now, doctors have identified many more symptoms and syndromes. In April, the C.D.C.

Added to the list of early signs sore throat, fever, chills and muscle aches. Gastrointestinal upset, such as diarrhea and nausea, has also been observed. Another telltale sign of may be a sudden, profound diminution of one’s sense of smell and taste. Teenagers and young adults in some cases have developed painful red and purple lesions on their fingers and toes — nicknamed “asthma treatment toe” — but few other serious symptoms.Why does standing six feet away from others help?.

The asthma spreads primarily through droplets from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The C.D.C., one of the organizations using that measure, bases its recommendation of six feet on the idea that most large droplets that people expel when they cough or sneeze will fall to the ground within six feet. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Sneezes, for instance, can launch droplets a lot farther than six feet, according to a recent study.

It's a rule of thumb. You should be safest standing six feet apart outside, especially when it's windy. But keep a mask on at all times, even when you think you’re far enough apart.I have antibodies. Am I now immune?.

As of right now, that seems likely, for at least several months. There have been frightening accounts of people suffering what seems to be a second bout of asthma treatment. But experts say these patients may have a drawn-out course of , with the ventolin taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the asthma typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an .

These antibodies may last in the body only two to three months, which may seem worrisome, but that’s perfectly normal after an acute subsides, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It may be possible to get the asthma again, but it’s highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial or make people sicker the second time.I’m a small-business owner. Can I get relief?.

The stimulus bills enacted in March offer help for the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for aid are businesses and nonprofit organizations with fewer than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers. Some larger companies in some industries are also eligible. The help being offered, which is being managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

But lots of folks have not yet seen payouts. Even those who have received help are confused. The rules are draconian, and some are stuck sitting on money they don’t know how to use. Many small-business owners are getting less than they expected or not hearing anything at all.What are my rights if I am worried about going back to work?.

Employers have to provide a safe workplace with policies that protect everyone equally. And if one of your co-workers tests positive for the asthma, the C.D.C. Has said that employers should tell their employees -- without giving you the sick employee’s name -- that they may have been exposed to the ventolin.I lined up near the start, a body in a sea of 115 bodies, ages 9 through 78, all standing six feet apart. The energy felt zippier here than at a normal race — almost giddy.

While most of the runners were from Pennsylvania, only a handful were also members of the Sunny Rest Resort. That meant almost everyone had traveled to this place — from places as far away as Ohio, Delaware and West Virginia — for the opportunity to do something unusual.Runners were required to wear masks to pick up their packets, and asked to wear them when near other people. Pretzel City also moved the start and finish area away from the more crowded part of the resort toward the camping sites, so we had more space to spread out. Over a bullhorn, Horn asked us to put our arms straight out by our sides and said, “If you are touching someone you are not sleeping with, you are standing too close.”After the initial newness of being aware of my butt bouncing around, everything felt pretty much the same as in a clothed race.

We started at 10:15 a.m., and I’m usually done running by 8 a.m. In the summer, so it was hot. I was grateful for my hat, and the sunblock and anti-chafing balm I’d applied all over my body. By the first mile, I was coated in sweat.“I don’t have a shirt to wipe off my face!.

€ another runner shouted. The more experienced naked runners had thought to carry little towels.Part of the course was an out and back, so I saw the leaders coming back as I went out. With a full view of their entire, naked forms in motion, I felt appreciation, in the same way I’d look at a nice painting.I didn’t worry about anyone else appreciating my body — from the naked ladies cheering from their trailer’s outdoor bar to the gentleman doing naked squats on his deck. The race didn’t feel sexualized at all, and I didn’t worry about which parts of my body were not perfectly flat and smooth, about what parts of my body shook with every step.

I was just another body in motion.Michael Lyons of Douglassville, Pa. €œI’m not a nudist type,” he said. €œI’m just a goofball who likes to do fun things.”Credit...Michelle Gustafson for The New York TimesI was feeling what many runners had told me before the start of the race — that this was freeing. Richard Whalen, 43, of Folcroft, Pa., said that for him it’s also a celebration of who he is now.

He’s a recovering alcoholic who took up running after he stopped being too hung over to run in the morning. €œThere’s a sense of freedom here to show off your beautiful body.”That’s also why Jim and Susan Fiordeliso of Yardley, Pa., came too. Last year, Mr. Fiordeliso, 53, had heart surgery, after which they vowed to take better care of their bodies.

That included moving to a plant-based diet, as well as lots of walking and running. They’ve lost 210 pounds between them. It was their first time at a nude race, and they treated it as a celebration of their new lives. €œI loved it and I would do it again,” he said.And then there’s just the fun of it.

€œI’m not a nudist type. I’m not an exhibitionist type,” said Michael Lyons, 35, of Douglassville, Pa., who has done both naked road races and bike rides. €œI’m just a goofball who likes to do fun things.”I finished in 30 minutes, 26 seconds, good enough for fifth place in my category. My award.

A medal that I wore at around my neck with nothing but my sandals, bandanna and a fresh coating of sun block.Jen A. Miller, the author of “Running. A Love Story,” writes The Times’s weekly running newsletter.Buying a short-term health plan in Kansas As the name indicates, short-term health insurance is designed to fill short gaps in coverage. It’s not as comprehensive as regular major medical health insurance, and it’s not suitable to serve as a person’s only coverage for a significant length of time.

But there are a variety of reasons a person might need short-term health insurance. Who can buy short-term health insurance in Kansas?. Short-term health insurance plans are available in Kansas to anyone who can meet the underwriting guidelines that the insurers impose. In general, this means being under 65 years old (some insurers put the age limit at 64 years) and in fairly good health — defined as being able to answer “no” to several questions that ask about major health conditions, obesity, mental health/substance abuse issues, etc.It’s important to understand, however, that short-term health insurance plans generally come with blanket exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

So they would not provide suitable coverage for a person who is currently in need of medical care and seeking a policy that will cover those needs. Short-term health insurance in Kansas should only be thought of as a means of covering unexpected future medical needs that fall within the coverage guidelines the plan offers.If you’re in need of health insurance coverage in Kansas, you’ll want to check first to see if you’re eligible for a special enrollment period that would allow you to enroll in an ACA-compliant major medical plan. Special enrollment periods are triggered by a variety of qualifying events, including losing another health insurance policy. Special enrollment periods are available through the health insurance exchange in Kansas, and most are also available outside the exchange.So for example, if you’re turning 26 and aging off a parent’s policy, or losing a plan offered by your former employer, you have an opportunity to enroll in an ACA-compliant plan at that point, even if it’s not during the annual open enrollment period in the fall.

If you’re eligible for premium subsidies or cost-sharing reductions, you can get them through the exchange when you enroll.And you can enroll in an ACA-compliant policy even if you know you’re only going to need it for a short time. ACA-compliant individual market plans are purchased on a month-to-month basis. You can cancel at any time. So if you’re losing a plan from your former employer at the end of July and you know that you’ll have coverage under a new employer starting in October, you can still sign up for an ACA-compliant plan to cover you for August and September (with a premium subsidy if you’re eligible), and then cancel it before your new plan takes effect in October.When should I consider short-term health insurance?.

With that said, there are times when a short-term health insurance plan might be the only option, or the most realistic option. Kansas short-term health insurance regulationsShort-term health insurance plans in Kansas are defined in Kansas Statute 40-2, 193.Kansas has a minimum loss ratio requirement of 60 percent. But under the terms of Kansas Statute 40-2, 193, this only applies to Kansas short-term plans if any monthly administrative fees are excluded from the medical loss ratio calculation.Short-term plan duration in KansasThe state law limits short-term plans to terms of “six months or 12 months, based upon policy design.” (The Kansas Insurance Department has clarified that the distinction between six-month and 12-month plans is up to the insurer. From a regulatory standpoint, the maximum term is 12 months).Kansas statute also limits short-term plans to no more than one renewal period, regardless of whether the insurer uses medical underwriting for the renewal.Under federal rules that took effect in 2018, short-term health insurance plans can have initial terms up to 364 days, and total duration, including renewals, of up to 36 months.

The regulations are clear, however, in noting that states may continue to impose tighter regulations than the new federal rules. Since Kansas statute only allows for a maximum term of 12 months and no more than one renewal, the maximum total duration of a short-term plan in Kansas is 24 months.And insurers can impose shorter duration limits. They can, for example, limit their initial policy terms, and can offer plans that are not renewable at all (the state limits Kansas short-term plans to one renewal, but does not require an insurer to make short-term plans renewable).Which insurance companies offer short-term plans in Kansas?.

In a lot of ways, the 5K I ran on Saturday was like any ventolin online canada other race. The tall, skinny guys zipped out front, fast. Spectators rang cowbells. I heard ventolin online canada the “Rocky” theme twice along the course.Except the spectators were naked.

And I was, too.That’s because the race was the Bouncing Buns Clothing Optional 5K, held at the Sunny Rest Resort, a nudist resort in Palmerton, Pa.“Not enough of us do things outside the box anymore, particularly as we get older,” said Ron Horn, race director and co-owner of Pretzel City Sports, which put on the race.I’ve run a handful of Pretzel City’s clothed (or as naked runners call them, “textile”) races, but the nude events never appealed to me, not when there were a zillion other races to run.But this year, it caught my attention in part because almost all other races have been canceled because of the asthma. In this ventolin season of covering our faces in public, why not uncover everything else?. What ventolin online canada a fun way to experience some freedom in a time of pressing fear, grief, restrictions and disappointments.But I hesitated. I’ve been to “toptional” pools in Las Vegas, so nudity wasn’t that much of an obstacle.

But running naked?. It seemed so — ventolin online canada uncomfortable. #styln-briefing-block { font-family. Nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif.

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1024px) { #styln-briefing-block { width. 100%. } } Latest Updates. The asthma Outbreak Updated 2020-08-31T10:20:43.431Z The U.S.

Has more than 6 million cases as President Trump retweets fringe theories on the ventolin. India now has the third-highest death rate from the ventolin. €˜Not completely benign’. Why children are not as safe from as commonly believed.

See more updates More live coverage. Markets And yet. I kept getting the emails about this race, in a year flooded with bad news that had come very close to home. In March, four members of my family were sick with asthma treatment.

In June, my brother was in the hospital for weeks after a driver struck him while he was on a bike ride.I’ve spent five months trying to find glimpses of joy in small, simple things, like the sight of a bird on the tree I planted last year, or the feel of my dog’s very soft ear. But the idea of a big, outlandish thing that might bump me out of my gloom had a certain draw.Ron Horn, the event’s organizer. €œNot enough of us do things outside the box anymore, particularly as we get older,” he said.Credit...Michelle Gustafson for The New York TimesWhen a friend who lives in upstate New York said she was 90 percent willing to commit to making the trip to participate in this race, I thought maybe I should go, if for nothing else than to see her.“What else do you have to do?. € she asked.Sunny Rest was founded as a nudist resort in 1945 and, except for the lack of clothing, looks like a lot of other campgrounds, with mobile homes, cabins, tents and RVs.

There’s a pool, spa, volleyball and tennis courts, hot tub, and hiking and biking trails. Most people go about their daily activities wearing nothing but shoes or sandals, maybe a hat. It’s private property, so laws against public nudity are not an issue. Pretzel City has been putting on races there for 13 years.The events are meant to be fun, but the race organizers recognize that there is something of a taboo around nudity, so it anonymizes race results when posting them online, listing participants only by first name, last initial and home state.

Knowing the privacy concerns, Pretzel City’s race director announced before the race that a photographer and I would be covering the event, and that we would include only those runners who consented to being photographed and interviewed.Several runners were eager to talk to me, including Bruce Freeburger, 69, who drove from Detroit to run this race. He operates the website naked5k.com. Its slogan. €œI did wear shoes!.

€â€œIt’s not ‘Girls Gone Wild,’” he said of naked runs. He believes that those who run nude tend to be “unselfish, and more sportsmanlike.”As soon as I pulled into Sunny Rest (after showing my ID and having the license plate of my car recorded by security), I saw a man in a wide-brimmed sun hat and no pants walking toward the pool.Runners in various states of undress on the course. The more experienced runners knew to carry towels to wipe away sweat.Credit...Michelle Gustafson for The New York TimesBy the time I parked near the race start, I felt prim. Some runners were clothed, but most were in some state of undress.

A woman breastfed her child while she checked in. A man waited to run in just sneakers and a Viking helmet — he hung his mask from one of the horns when he wasn’t near other people. I saw my friend, already stripped down. She fit right in.

I gave her an elbow bump and took off my shorts. It didn’t feel weird, at all.To prepare for the experience, I’d tried running completely naked on the treadmill in my basement, and determined that going braless was impractical for me. So I took the Donald Duck approach and wore a hat and sports bra but no bottoms. When I checked in, I was handed a race bib and a T-shirt, but then a staffer — naked except for mask and gloves — wrote my race number with a marker on my leg.

Where was I going to pin a bib anyway?. .css-1wxds7f{margin-bottom:10px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:0.875rem;line-height:1.25rem;color:#333 !. Important;}.css-2al2sh{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.25rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:5px;font-weight:700;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-2al2sh{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-2al2sh{margin-bottom:10px;}}.css-1yyoic1{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.9375rem;line-height:1.25rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1yyoic1{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-zkk2wn{margin-bottom:20px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.875rem;line-height:1.5625rem;color:#333;}.css-1dvfdxo{margin:10px auto 0px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.5625rem;color:#121212;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1dvfdxo{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}.css-16ed7iq{width:100%;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-box-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;justify-content:center;padding:10px 0;background-color:white;}.css-pmm6ed{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}.css-pmm6ed > :not(:first-child){margin-left:5px;}.css-5gimkt{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.03em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.03em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.03em;letter-spacing:0.03em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#333;}.css-5gimkt:after{content:'Collapse';}.css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;-webkit-transform:rotate(180deg);-ms-transform:rotate(180deg);transform:rotate(180deg);}.css-eb027h{max-height:5000px;-webkit-transition:max-height 0.5s ease;transition:max-height 0.5s ease;}.css-6mllg9{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;position:relative;opacity:0;}.css-6mllg9:before{content:'';background-image:linear-gradient(180deg,transparent,#ffffff);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(270deg,rgba(255,255,255,0),#ffffff);height:80px;width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0px;pointer-events:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}.css-19mumt8{background-color:white;margin:30px 0;padding:0 20px;max-width:510px;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-19mumt8{margin:40px auto;}}.css-19mumt8:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}.css-19mumt8 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:2px solid #ccd9e3;}.css-19mumt8 a:visited{color:#333;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:2px solid #ddd;}.css-19mumt8 a:hover{border-bottom:none;}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:'See more';}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-a8d9oz{border-top:5px solid #121212;border-bottom:2px solid #121212;margin:0 auto;padding:5px 0 0;overflow:hidden;}The asthma Outbreak ›Frequently Asked QuestionsUpdated August 27, 2020What should I consider when choosing a mask?. There are a few basic things to consider.

Does it have at least two layers?. Good. If you hold it up to the light, can you see through it?. Bad.

Can you blow a candle out through your mask?. Bad. Do you feel mostly OK wearing it for hours at a time?. Good.

The most important thing, after finding a mask that fits well without gapping, is to find a mask that you will wear. Spend some time picking out your mask, and find something that works with your personal style. You should be wearing it whenever you’re out in public for the foreseeable future. Read more.

What’s the Best Material for a Mask?. What are the symptoms of asthma?. In the beginning, the asthma seemed like it was primarily a respiratory illness — many patients had fever and chills, were weak and tired, and coughed a lot, though some people don’t show many symptoms at all. Those who seemed sickest had pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome and received supplemental oxygen.

By now, doctors have identified many more symptoms and syndromes. In April, the C.D.C. Added to the list of early signs sore throat, fever, chills and muscle aches. Gastrointestinal upset, such as diarrhea and nausea, has also been observed.

Another telltale sign of may be a sudden, profound diminution of one’s sense of smell and taste. Teenagers and young adults in some cases have developed painful red and purple lesions on their fingers and toes — nicknamed “asthma treatment toe” — but few other serious symptoms.Why does standing six feet away from others help?. The asthma spreads primarily through droplets from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The C.D.C., one of the organizations using that measure, bases its recommendation of six feet on the idea that most large droplets that people expel when they cough or sneeze will fall to the ground within six feet.

But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Sneezes, for instance, can launch droplets a lot farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It's a rule of thumb. You should be safest standing six feet apart outside, especially when it's windy.

But keep a mask on at all times, even when you think you’re far enough apart.I have antibodies. Am I now immune?. As of right now, that seems likely, for at least several months. There have been frightening accounts of people suffering what seems to be a second bout of asthma treatment.

But experts say these patients may have a drawn-out course of , with the ventolin taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the asthma typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an . These antibodies may last in the body only two to three months, which may seem worrisome, but that’s perfectly normal after an acute subsides, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University.

It may be possible to get the asthma again, but it’s highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial or make people sicker the second time.I’m a small-business owner. Can I get relief?. The stimulus bills enacted in March offer help for the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for aid are businesses and nonprofit organizations with fewer than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers.

Some larger companies in some industries are also eligible. The help being offered, which is being managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. But lots of folks have not yet seen payouts. Even those who have received help are confused.

The rules are draconian, and some are stuck sitting on money they don’t know how to use. Many small-business owners are getting less than they expected or not hearing anything at all.What are my rights if I am worried about going back to work?. Employers have to provide a safe workplace with policies that protect everyone equally. And if one of your co-workers tests positive for the asthma, the C.D.C.

Has said that employers should tell their employees -- without giving you the sick employee’s name -- that they may have been exposed to the ventolin.I lined up near the start, a body in a sea of 115 bodies, ages 9 through 78, all standing six feet apart. The energy felt zippier here than at a normal race — almost giddy. While most of the runners were from Pennsylvania, only a handful were also members of the Sunny Rest Resort. That meant almost everyone had traveled to this place — from places as far away as Ohio, Delaware and West Virginia — for the opportunity to do something unusual.Runners were required to wear masks to pick up their packets, and asked to wear them when near other people.

Pretzel City also moved the start and finish area away from the more crowded part of the resort toward the camping sites, so we had more space to spread out. Over a bullhorn, Horn asked us to put our arms straight out by our sides and said, “If you are touching someone you are not sleeping with, you are standing too close.”After the initial newness of being aware of my butt bouncing around, everything felt pretty much the same as in a clothed race. We started at 10:15 a.m., and I’m usually done running by 8 a.m. In the summer, so it was hot.

I was grateful for my hat, and the sunblock and anti-chafing balm I’d applied all over my body. By the first mile, I was coated in sweat.“I don’t have a shirt to wipe off my face!. € another runner shouted. The more experienced naked runners had thought to carry little towels.Part of the course was an out and back, so I saw the leaders coming back as I went out.

With a full view of their entire, naked forms in motion, I felt appreciation, in the same way I’d look at a nice painting.I didn’t worry about anyone else appreciating my body — from the naked ladies cheering from their trailer’s outdoor bar to the gentleman doing naked squats on his deck. The race didn’t feel sexualized at all, and I didn’t worry about which parts of my body were not perfectly flat and smooth, about what parts of my body shook with every step. I was just another body in motion.Michael Lyons of Douglassville, Pa. €œI’m not a nudist type,” he said.

€œI’m just a goofball who likes to do fun things.”Credit...Michelle Gustafson for The New York TimesI was feeling what many runners had told me before the start of the race — that this was freeing. Richard Whalen, 43, of Folcroft, Pa., said that for him it’s also a celebration of who he is now. He’s a recovering alcoholic who took up running after he stopped being too hung over to run in the morning. €œThere’s a sense of freedom here to show off your beautiful body.”That’s also why Jim and Susan Fiordeliso of Yardley, Pa., came too.

Last year, Mr. Fiordeliso, 53, had heart surgery, after which they vowed to take better care of their bodies. That included moving to a plant-based diet, as well as lots of walking and running. They’ve lost 210 pounds between them.

It was their first time at a nude race, and they treated it as a celebration of their new lives. €œI loved it and I would do it again,” he said.And then there’s just the fun of it. €œI’m not a nudist type. I’m not an exhibitionist type,” said Michael Lyons, 35, of Douglassville, Pa., who has done both naked road races and bike rides.

€œI’m just a goofball who likes to do fun things.”I finished in 30 minutes, 26 seconds, good enough for fifth place in my category. My award. A medal that I wore at around my neck with nothing but my sandals, bandanna and a fresh coating of sun block.Jen A. Miller, the author of “Running.

A Love Story,” writes The Times’s weekly running newsletter.Buying a short-term health plan in Kansas As the name indicates, short-term health insurance is designed to fill short gaps in coverage. It’s not as comprehensive as regular major medical health insurance, and it’s not suitable to serve as a person’s only coverage for a significant length of time. But there are a variety of reasons a person might need short-term health insurance. Who can buy short-term health insurance in Kansas?.

Short-term health insurance plans are available in Kansas to anyone who can meet the underwriting guidelines that the insurers impose. In general, this means being under 65 years old (some insurers put the age limit at 64 years) and in fairly good health — defined as being able to answer “no” to several questions that ask about major health conditions, obesity, mental health/substance abuse issues, etc.It’s important to understand, however, that short-term health insurance plans generally come with blanket exclusions for pre-existing conditions. So they would not provide suitable coverage for a person who is currently in need of medical care and seeking a policy that will cover those needs. Short-term health insurance in Kansas should only be thought of as a means of covering unexpected future medical needs that fall within the coverage guidelines the plan offers.If you’re in need of health insurance coverage in Kansas, you’ll want to check first to see if you’re eligible for a special enrollment period that would allow you to enroll in an ACA-compliant major medical plan.

Special enrollment periods are triggered by a variety of qualifying events, including losing another health insurance policy. Special enrollment periods are available through the health insurance exchange in Kansas, and most are also available outside the exchange.So for example, if you’re turning 26 and aging off a parent’s policy, or losing a plan offered by your former employer, you have an opportunity to enroll in an ACA-compliant plan at that point, even if it’s not during the annual open enrollment period in the fall. If you’re eligible for premium subsidies or cost-sharing reductions, you can get them through the exchange when you enroll.And you can enroll in an ACA-compliant policy even if you know you’re only going to need it for a short time. ACA-compliant individual market plans are purchased on a month-to-month basis.

You can cancel at any time. So if you’re losing a plan from your former employer at the end of July and you know that you’ll have coverage under a new employer starting in October, you can still sign up for an ACA-compliant plan to cover you for August and September (with a premium subsidy if you’re eligible), and then cancel it before your new plan takes effect in October.When should I consider short-term health insurance?. With that said, there are times when a short-term health insurance plan might be the only option, or the most realistic option.

What should I tell my health care providers before I take Ventolin?

They need to know if you have any of the following conditions:

• diabetes
• heart disease or irregular heartbeat
• high blood pressure
• pheochromocytoma
• seizures
• thyroid disease
• an unusual or allergic reaction to albuterol, levalbuterol, sulfites, other medicines, foods, dyes, or preservatives
• pregnant or trying to get pregnant
• breast-feeding

How often can you use ventolin hfa

Minnesota marketplace highlights and More Bonuses updatesOpen enrollment for 2021 how often can you use ventolin hfa health plans. November 1, 2020 how often can you use ventolin hfa through December 22, 2020. Residents with qualifying events can still enroll or make changes to their 2020 coverage.Insurers implementing modest rate increases for 2021, after three straight years of average rate decreases. Quartz has joined the exchange for 2021, how often can you use ventolin hfa bringing total number of insurers to five.117,520 people enrolled for 2020, a new record for MNsure.Insurer participation in MNsure.

2014 to 2021.Reinsurance program received federal approval, began operation in 2018.With reinsurance, rates decreased for 2018 and again, even more significantly, for 2019. But reinsurance also reduced funding for MinnesotaCare.The elimination of CSR funding further reduced MinnesotaCare funding, but this has been partly restored by a court ruling.MN provided premium relief for non-subsidy-eligible enrollees for 2017 only.Governor vetoed a proposed 2019 switch to HealthCare.gov.MNsure’s small business exchange no longer has any participating insurers.Minnesota health exchange overviewMinnesota’s one of the states fighting the hardest to preserve the Affordable Care how often can you use ventolin hfa Act’s gains. See actions Minnesota has taken.Minnesota’s state-run exchange, MNsure, has five participating insurers for 2021, up from four in 2020. The exchange has more than 117,000 how often can you use ventolin hfa individual market enrollees as of 2020.As a result of the asthma treatment ventolin, MNsure joined most of the other state-run exchanges in offering a special enrollment period during which people who were uninsured could enroll in a health plan.

MNsure’s special enrollment period began March 23, and continued through April 21. Nearly 9,500 how often can you use ventolin hfa Minnesota residents enrolled in private plans through MNsure during this window, as well as another 13,700 who enrolled in MinnesotaCare or Medicaid (enrollment in those programs is open year-round for eligible residents).Allison O’Toole, who led MNsure as CEO for three years, announced her resignation in March 2018, and the exchange named Nate Clark, the MNsure COO, as acting CEO. A few months later, the MNsure board named Clark as the permanent CEO. O’Toole left MNsure to work as director how often can you use ventolin hfa of state affairs for United States of Care, a non-profit created by Andy Slavitt, who was the acting administrator of CMS under the Obama Administration.Throughout 2017, Minnesotans who bought their own health insurance (on or off-exchange) and weren’t eligible for ACA subsidies were provided with 25 percent premium rebates from the state as a result of S.F.1, signed into law by Governor Dayton in early 2017.

The subsidies helped to offset the large premium increases that applied in Minnesota in 2017, and helped to stabilize the individual health insurance market in 2017. But the premium rebate program expired at the end how often can you use ventolin hfa of 2017.Thanks in large part to the new reinsurance program that Minnesota created (details below), premiums decreased in Minnesota’s individual market in 2018, 2019, and again in 2020, although rates are increasing modestly for 2021. In May 2019, Minnesota leaders reached an agreement on a budget that included an extension of the reinsurance program through 2020 and 2021 (it has already been granted federal approval through the end of 2022, but the state has to continue to cover its share of the cost. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had hoped to implement a premium subsidy how often can you use ventolin hfa program and a new tax credit in Minnesota starting in 2020.

But a compromise in the budget ended up with the state opting to continue the existing reinsurance program for two more years instead.).But the waiver that provides federal pass-through funding for reinsurance also resulted in a sharp and unexpected decrease in federal funding for MinnesotaCare, the Basic Health Program that provides coverage for people with income between 138 percent and 200 percent of the poverty level (between $16,642 and $24,120 for a single person).In addition, the elimination of federal funding for cost-sharing reductions (CSR) in October 2018 resulted in a funding cut for MinnesotaCare, since the program is funded in large part by federal funds that would otherwise have been used to pay for premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions in the exchange for the population that is instead eligible for MinnesotaCare. After an ensuing legal battle, a judge ordered HHS to restore funding for MinnesotaCare, although a resolution of the situation is ongoing, and how often can you use ventolin hfa the amount that HHS agreed to pay was still less than MinnesotaCare would have received if CSR funding had continued.Open enrollment for 2021 health plans extended through December 22, 2020. Insurers implementing modest rate increases for 2021, after three years of overall rate decreasesMNsure enabled window shopping for 2021 health plans as of October 12, 2020. This gives residents a few weeks to browse the available plans before open enrollment how often can you use ventolin hfa starts on November 1, 2020.

And MNsure has announced that open enrollment will continue through December 22, 2020. That’s a week longer than the open enrollment period that will apply in states that use the federally-run exchange how often can you use ventolin hfa. The flexibility to extend open enrollment is often cited as one of the benefits of having a fully state-run exchange. (MNsure had a similar extension last December, how often can you use ventolin hfa for 2020 health plans).For 2021, Quartz is joining the Minnesota marketplace.

Quartz currently offers plans in Illinois and Wisconsin, and is expanding into Minnesota for 2021. And two of the existing insurers — HealthPartners and how often can you use ventolin hfa UCare — are expanding their coverage areas for 2021 (BluePlus and Medica offer coverage statewide, and will continue to do so in 2021).The following average rate changes have been approved for MNsure’s insurers:Blue Plus. 4.21 percent increase (down from an initially proposed 7.12 how often can you use ventolin hfa percent increase)Group Health/Health Partners (GHI). 0.67 percent increase (down from an initially proposed 4.15 percent increase)Medica.

2.42 percent increase (down from an initially proposed 7.06 percent how often can you use ventolin hfa increase)UCare. 1.6 percent increase (up from an initially proposed 1.39 percent decrease)Quartz. New for 2021, so no applicable rate changePreferredOne Insurance Company, which offers plans outside the exchange, is increasing premiums by 1.05 percent (down from an initially how often can you use ventolin hfa proposed average increase of 5.09 percent). Rate changes in previous years2015.

Average increase of 4.5 percent how often can you use ventolin hfa. MNsure critics characterized the official announcement as misleading as it failed to take into account low-cost 2014 plans from PreferredOne. Consumers who bought a PreferredOne plan through MNsure for 2014 could only renew their policies for 2015 by working directly with the insurer, since PreferredOne stopped how often can you use ventolin hfa offering plans in the exchange at the end of 2014. However, PreferredOne rates went up an average of 63 percent, and consumers didn’t qualify for subsidies if they shopped outside the exchange.

2016. Average increase of 41.4 percent for the individual market, and about 38.5 for plans sold in MNsure (ie, not counting PreferredOne). Rates increased significantly in 2016 across the entire individual market in Minnesota — including plans sold through MNsure, the state-run exchange.Approved rates for 2016 were announced on October 1, 2015, ranging from about 15 percent for Medica to 49 percent for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. In general, the carriers cited higher-than-expected claims costs over the past year, along with the impending phase-out of the ACA’s reinsurance program as justification for their 2016 rate requests.

But Governor Mark Dayton called some of the higher proposed increases “outrageous,” and promised a rigorous review of the filed rate changes and justifications. Ultimately, regulators were able to limit the highest rate increases to 49 percent — as opposed to the 54 percent that had been requested by Blue Plus and BCBS of MN — but the final weighted average rate increase in the individual market in Minnesota still ended up being the highest in the nation. But Minnesota still had the lowest overall premiums in the upper midwest (although Minnesota had the highest average rate increase in the country for 2016, they had the lowest overall rates in the country in 2014 and 2015).Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman called the rate increases “unacceptably high,” and Gov. Dayton noted that he was “extremely unhappy” with the rate changes.

But Rothman noted that his office “objected to all of the rates across the board,” and “squeezed out everything we could that was not actuarial justified.” In other words, the final rates, although much higher than officials and policyholders would have liked, were justified based on medical claims costs — the population enrolled in individual health plans in Minnesota was sicker than expected, and drug costs had been particularly onerous.Only about 55 percent of people who had 2015 coverage through MNsure received premium subsidies. But due to the sharp premium increases, that had increased to about 63 percent for the people who had purchased or renewed coverage as of June 2016.2017. When the Minnesota Department of Commerce announced health insurance rates for 2017 for the individual and small group markets, the rate hikes were somewhat reasonable in the small group market (ranging from a decrease of 1 percent to an increase of 17.8 percent), but the individual market was “experiencing serious disruptions in 2017” and “on the verge of collapse.” The four carriers that offered plans through MNsure had the following average rate increases in 2017:Blue Plus = 55 percentHealthPartners/Group Health (GHI) = 50 percent (HealthPartners is only offering plans in 10 of the 67 counties where they offered plans in 2016. Their enrollment cap is 72,000 for 2017)Medica = 57.5 percent (enrollment cap is 50,000 for 2017)UCare = 66.8 percent (UCare capped enrollment at 30,000 for 2017, but only had 16,000 enrollees in 2016)The enrollment caps that HealthPartners, Medica, and UCare employed for 2017 were approved as part of the rate review process, and are designed to protect carriers from further financial losses as they absorb BCBSMN’s enrollees who are shopping for new coverage during open enrollment.In a news release relating to the rate announcement for 2017, the Minnesota Department of Commerce didn’t mince words.

They noted that the individual market in the state was on the brink of collapse, and that they did everything in their power to save the market. While they succeeded in keeping the state’s individual market viable for 2017, with only one carrier exiting (BCBSMN, although their HMO affiliate, Blue Plus, remained in the exchange), they reiterated very clearly that substantial reforms would be needed to keep the market stable in future years, and highlighted the fact that rates would be sharply higher and that carriers would limit enrollment in 2017.2018. Final rates for 2018 were approved in October 2017 (comprehensive information about the approved rates is here), based on the Minnesota Premium Security Plan (MSPS) being implemented but cost-sharing reductions (CSR) not being funded by the federal government (the cost of CSRs was added to on-exchange Silver plans). Average approved rate changes for MNsure insurers ranged from a 13.3 percent decrease for UCare to a 2.8 percent increase for Blue Plus.

Three of the four MNsure insurers decreased their average premiums for 2018.On September 21, MNsure had posted a notice indicating that if the reinsurance program were not approved, rates would be about 20 percent higher than they would otherwise be in 2018. Fortunately for Minnesota residents, the reinsurance program did receive federal approval, and average rates declined slightly for 2018.But some enrollees who don’t get ACA premium subsidies still experienced a rate increase, due to the termination of the one-year, state-funded 25 percent premium rebates at the end of 2017.PreferredOne, which exited MNsure at the end of 2014 and only offers coverage in the off-exchange market, proposed dramatically lower rates for 2018. A 38 percent average decrease if MSPS were to be approved, and a 23 percent average decrease if not. The 38 percent decrease was implemented, and no adjustments were necessary to account for CSR funding, since PreferredOne does not offer plans in the exchange, and CSRs are only available on silver exchange plans.2019.

Average premium decrease of 12.4 percent. Average premiums dropped for all five insurers in the individual market in 2019. This was the second year in a row of declining rates in Minnesota, but Blue Plus had a small rate increase for 2018, so 2019 was the first year that all five insurers decreased their average rates. Minnesota insurance regulators noted that rates in 2019 were about 20 percent lower than they would have been without the reinsurance program.But most of Minnesota’s insurers charged higher rates in 2019 than they would have if the individual mandate penalty hadn’t been eliminated, and if access to short-term plans and association health plans hadn’t been expanded by the Trump administration.

For example, UCare’s rate filing notes that while average rates were decreasing by about 10 percent, the rate decrease would have been nearly 15 percent if the individual mandate penalty had remained in place.At ACA Signups, Charles Gaba calculated a weighted average rate decrease of 12.4 percent for 2019 in Minnesota, but noted that the average decrease would have been nearly 19 percent without those changes at the federal level.2020. Average premium decrease of 1 percent. Four of the five insurers (including PreferredOne, which only offers coverage off-exchange) in Minnesota’s individual market decreased their average premiums for 2020. This was the third year in a row that average individual market premiums dropped in Minnesota’s individual market, due in large part to the reinsurance program that the state has established.The following average rate changes were implemented for 2020:Blue Plus.

1.5 percent decrease (Blue Plus had originally proposed a 4.8 percent increase)Group Health/Health Partners (GHI). 1.26 percent decrease (GHI had originally proposed a 2.1 percent increase)Medica. 1.01 percent decrease (Medica had originally proposed an average decrease of 1.4 percent)UCare. 0.18 percent increase (UCare originally proposed a 0.3 percent increase)PreferredOne, which only offers off-exchange coverage, reduced their rates by an average of 20 percent, on the heels of an 11 percent decrease in 2019.

MNsure enrollment exceeded 116k in 2018, dropped to 113k for 2019, but grew to more than 1117k in 2020From 2014 through 2018, enrollment in MNsure’s individual market plans increased every year, reaching 116,358 people by 2018. That was the highest open enrollment total in MNsure’s history, despite the shorter enrollment period, which ended in mid-January instead of the end of January (open enrollment for 2018 coverage ended on December 15, 2017 in states that use HealthCare.gov, but MNsure opted to extend their enrollment window that year, and have also extended subsequent enrollment windows).Enrollment dropped for the first time in 2019, when 113,552 people enrolled in individual market plans through MNsure. In most states that use HealthCare.gov, enrollment peaked in 2016 and has been dropping since then. But MNsure’s drop-off in 2019, which amounted to only a 2.4 percent reduction in enrollment, is the only time year-over-year enrollment has declined.

Notably, the ACA’s individual mandate penalty was eliminated as of 2019, and regulations that the Trump administration implemented in late 2018 now make it more feasible for healthy people to use short-term plans instead of ACA-compliant plans (Minnesota has its own rules for short-term plans, but they’re more relaxed than the Obama-era federal rules that applied in 2017 and most of 2018).And for 2020, enrollment grew again, reaching a record high of 117,520 enrollees.Here’s a look at the number of people who have signed up for individual market plans through MNsure during each year’s open enrollment period. These numbers all represent total enrollment at the end of open enrollment. Effectuated enrollment is always lower, and MNsure provides periodic effectuated enrollment data on their board meeting materials page. Insurer participation in MNsure.

2014-20212014. Five insurers offered individual policies through MNsure for 2014. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners/Group Health, Medica, PreferredOne, and UCare. Kaiser Health News reported that Minnesota offered some of the lowest premiums for silver (mid-level) plans in the U.S.

Four of Minnesota’s nine regions made Kaiser’s list of the 10 least expensive places to buy health insurance.2015. But PreferredOne, which offered the lowest rates in the nation in 2014 and captured a large portion of 2014 enrollees, withdrew from MNsure for 2015. PreferredOne said remaining on the exchange was “not administratively and financially sustainable.” A Star Tribune business writer attributed PreferredOne’s departure as a market dynamics issue rather than a problem with MNsure.However, Blue Plus (an affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN, offering HMO plans) joined the exchange for 2015, so there were still five insurers offering plans for 2015. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health, Medica, and UCare.

MNsure offered 84 plans statewide, up from 78 for 2014.2016. BCBSMN, Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health, Medica, and UCare offered individual market plans through MNsure for 2016.2017. In an effort to recruit more carriers to offer plans through MNsure for 2017 — particularly outside the Twin Cities metro area — state regulators sent out a request for proposals from health insurers on August 15, 2016. Regulators noted that insurers could propose waivers of regulations in order to make it feasible for them to offer coverage through MNsure, although any such waiver requests would have to be approved by regulators.Steven Parente, a health insurance expert at the University of Minnesota, called the state’s effort to recruit insurers to MNsure a “distress call” and noted that August 15 is awfully late in the year to be putting out a request for insurer participation, given that open enrollment begins November 1.

And ultimately, no new insurers opted to join MNsure for 2017.Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN dropped their individual market PPO plans at the end of 2016 due to significant financial losses. That left Blue Plus (which offered HMOs and covered roughly 13,000 people in 2016 in the individual market) as the only BCBSMN affiliate in the exchange. Roughly 103,000 people had to select new plans during open enrollment.Most of those BCBSMN enrollees had off-exchange coverage, though. There were only about 20,400 MNsure enrollees (a little more than one in five MNsure enrollees) with coverage under BCBSMN who needed to switch to another plan during open enrollment.

BCBSMN had individual PPO options available in all 87 counties in Minnesota through MNsure in 2016, while the Blue Plus coverage area — comprised of four separate HMO networks — was available in 77 of the state’s counties.Nationwide, carriers have been shifting away from PPOs and towards HMOs and EPOs. In Colorado, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield also dropped their PPOs at the end of 2016. In Indiana, there were no PPOs available in the individual market by 2017. Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico dropped all of their individual market plans at the end of 2015 except one off-exchange HMO.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas dropped their individual market PPO plans at the end of 2015.The broad network offered by PPOs tends to be attractive to enrollees who have health problems. They’re often willing to pay higher premiums in trade for access to broad network of hospitals and specialists. But PPOs are expensive for carriers, as enrollees don’t need primary care referrals to see specialists, and it’s more challenging for carriers to hold down costs when there are more providers in the network.All of the MNsure carriers except Blue Plus are also limiting their total enrollment for 2017. By November 11, 2016, less than two weeks into open enrollment for 2017 coverage, Medica had hit their 50,000 member enrollment cap for 2017 (including on and off-exchange enrollments, and also accounting for expected renewals of 2016 Medica plans), and their policies were no longer available in the individual market in Minnesota, on or off-exchange.

The only exception was five counties (Benton, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Morrison, and Stearns) where Medica agreed not to limit enrollment, as all of the other available carriers in those counties have imposed enrollment caps too. In those five counties, Medica plans continued to be available.At that point, Medica’s market share in MNsure for 2017 stood at 34.2 percent. By December 14, Medica’s market share had dropped to 27.7 percent, as enrollments had continued to climb for the remaining carriers.On January 31, Medica re-opened enrollment for 2017. This was because a smaller-than-expected number of 2016 Medica enrollees renewed their plans for 2017, meaning that the carrier still had some wiggle room under their 50,000 member cap.

At that point, they had room for about 7,000 more enrollees. Medica plans were thus available throughout the duration of the special enrollment period that was added on at the end of open enrollment, and continue to be available for people with qualifying events.2018. Plans continued to be available from Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health (GHI), Medica, UCare. In the months before a decision was reached regarding an extension of the open enrollment window for 2018 plans (the first year that the federal government imposed a shorter, month-and-a-half enrollment window), two of MNsure’s participating insurers had differing positions.

UCare believed the exchange should add an additional two-week special enrollment period, while Medica did not want the exchange to have the option to extend the newly-scheduled six-week enrollment window. Notably, Medica capped their enrollment very early during the 2017 open enrollment period, and while UCare also had an enrollment cap, it was set with a target of nearly doubling their 2016 enrollment. But Medica is the only MNsure insurer that didn’t set an enrollment cap for 2018.As was the case for 2017, enrollment caps were used in the individual market in Minnesota for 2018 by all insurers other than Medica (Medica did have an enrollment cap for 2017, which they hit very early in open enrollment. However, they resumed enrollments at the end of January 2017).

Details about the insurers’ enrollment caps are in the plan binders in SERFF. For 2018, MNsure insurers implemented the following enrollment caps:Blue Plus. 55,000 member cap (aiming for a target of 50,000 effectuated enrollees, but effectuated enrollment is always lower than the number of people who initially enroll)Health Partners/Group Health (GHI). 73,400 member cap (aiming for a target of 70,000 effectuated enrollees)Medica.

No enrollment capUCare. 35,000 member cap (aiming for a target of 30,000 effectuated enrollees)MNsure confirmed in May 2018 that none of their insurers had hit their enrollment caps for 2018.Outside the exchange, PreferredOne had an enrollment cap of 3,000 members, although their 2017 membership was only about 300 people.2019 and 2020. Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health, UCare, and Medica have continued to offer plans through MNsure, and all of them continued to participate in 2020 as well. Blue Plus expanded to once again offer statewide coverage in 2020, for the first time since 2016.2021.

Quartz joined the exchange for 2021, joining the four existing insurers. HealthPartners and UCare are both expanding their coverage areas for 2021.Minnesota Premium Security Plan. 1332 waiver proposal approved by CMS, but with a significant funding cut for MinnesotaCareIn May 2017, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton submitted a 1332 waiver proposal to CMS. The 1332 waiver was based on H.F.5, which was enacted without Dayton’s signature in April 2017 (Dayton had proposed an alternative measure that would have allowed people in Minnesota to buy into MinnesotaCare.

That measure was not able to pass the state’s Republican-dominated legislature).[For more than two decades, MinnesotaCare was a state program subsidizing health insurance for low-income residents. As of January 1, 2015, it transitioned to a Basic Health Program under the ACA, becoming the first BHP in the nation.]H.F.5 created the Minnesota Premium Security Plan (MPSP), which is a state-based reinsurance program (similar to the one the ACA implemented on a temporary basis through 2016, and that Alaska created for 2017. Several other states have since implemented reinsurance programs). The reinsurance program, which took effect in Minnesota in 2018, covers a portion of the claims that insurers face, resulting in lower total claims costs for the insurers, and thus lower premiums (average individual market premiums in Minnesota decreased from 2017 to 2018 as a result of the reinsurance program).

The reinsurance kicks in once claims reach $50,000, and covers them at 80 percent up to $250,000 (this is similar to the coverage under the transitional reinsurance program that the ACA provided from 2014 through 2016).H.F.5 was contingent upon approval of the 1332 waiver, because it relies partially on federal funding, in addition to state funding. Under the federal approval that was granted in September 2017, the federal government is giving Minnesota the money that they save on premium tax credits, and that money is combined with state funds to implement the reinsurance program (lower premiums — as a result of the reinsurance program — result in the federal government having to pay a smaller total amount of premium tax credits, since the tax credits are smaller when premiums are smaller).It was expected that CMS would approve the state’s 1332 waiver proposal, and Governor Dayton requested that the approval process be swift so that the state could move forward with the implementation of the Minnesota Premium Security Plan in time for the 2018 plan year. Dayton indicated that his office had been told that approval would come in August 2017, but CMS didn’t approve the waiver until September 22. And the waiver approval letter noted that the federal savings for MinnesotaCare (the state’s Basic Health Program, or BHP) resulting from the reinsurance program would not be eligible to be passed along to the state — in other words, CMS would keep those savings instead.[Federal BHP funding is equal to 95 percent of the amount that the federal government would have otherwise spent on premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions for the population that ends up being eligible for the BHP.

So lower premiums — as a result of reinsurance — for qualified health plans in the exchange means that the amount the federal government would have had to spend on premium subsidies for that population is lower. That translates into a smaller amount of funding for the state’s BHP, according to the approach that HHS took for Minnesota’s waiver approval.]And based on the scathing letter that Dayton sent CMS a few days earlier, it appeared at that point that Minnesota could actually lose money on the deal — losing more in federal funding for MinnesotaCare than they gain in reinsurance funding. Dayton noted in his letter that the 1332 waiver approval process had been “nightmarish,” and that Minnesota went to great lengths to follow instructions from CMS at every turn, throughout the process of drafting H.F.5 and the 1332 waiver proposal. He explains that CMS provided Minnesota with explicit guidance in terms of how to draft the reinsurance program while maintaining full federal funding for MinnesotaCare, and highlighted the fact that the state never deviated from the instructions that were provided.The StarTribune editorial board called out then-Secretary of HHS, Tom Price and the Trump Administration for their lack of clarity on the issue, for apparently misleading the state during the 1332 waiver drafting process, and for effectively punishing the state of Minnesota for taking an innovative approach to ensuring that as many people as possible have health insurance.Insurers filed rates based on reinsurance being available.

And by the time the waiver was approved, there was very little time to evaluate the potential impacts of the funding changes, as rates had to be finalized by October 2 in Minnesota. The finalized rates did incorporate the reinsurance program. The state has accepted the approved waiver, but Gov. Dayton sent a letter to HHS on October 3, asking them to reconsider the MinnesotaCare funding cuts, but the issue has remained unresolved.Elimination of CSR funding results in additional funding cut for MinnesotaCare, but a lawsuit has partially restored that fundingNationwide, 54 percent of exchange enrollees benefit from cost-sharing subsidies.

But in Minnesota, only 13 percent of exchange enrollees are receiving cost-sharing subsidies. This is because of MinnesotaCare, which covers all enrollees with income up to 200 percent of the poverty level. That’s the same group that would otherwise benefit the most from cost-sharing subsidies, so the fact that MinnesotaCare is available means that most of the people who would otherwise be enrolled in cost-sharing subsidy plans are instead enrolled in MinnesotaCare.At first glance, this would appear to have made the uncertainty surrounding cost-sharing subsidy funding in 2017 a little less of a pressing issue in Minnesota than it was in many other states, since private insurers weren’t facing the sort of losses that insurers in other states were facing without federal funding for CSR. But when the Trump Administration eliminated federal funding for CSR in October 2017, HHS took the position tha t since CSR funding had been eliminated, the CSR portion of the federal funding for the BHPs in New York and Minnesota would be reduced to $0.

This was not a cut-and-dried conclusion, however, as explained earlier in 2017 by Michael Kalina.In January 2018, the Attorneys General for New York and Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services, seeking to restore funding for their Basic Health Programs. A judge ruled in favor of the states in May 2018, ensuring that MinnesotaCare would continue to receive at least some CSR-based funding. The amount awarded to the state for the first quarter of 2018 was just over half of what the state had initially expected in CSR-related funding, but a larger chuck of the funding was restored later in 2018. According to the Star Tribune, however, Minnesota still ended up losing $161 million in federal funding for MinnesotaCare due to the CSR funding cuts.In early 2019, the Trump administration proposed yet another funding cut (a third, after the cuts imposed by the reinsurance program and the elimination of CSR funding) as part of a new methodology for calculating BHP funding.

This one was much smaller than the other two cuts, but taken together the funding reductions are pushing MinnesotaCare towards a looming budget shortfall. SHOP exchange. Down to one carrier as of 2016, zero by 2018 (and still zero in 2019)In 2015, there were two carriers in MNsure’s SHOP exchange for small businesses. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and Medica.

But Medica announced in 2015 that they would exit the SHOP exchange in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin at the end of the year. That left BCBS as the only small group carrier available through MNsure in 2016, but it didn’t change much from a practical standpoint, since 83 percent of MNsure’s small groups were enrolled in plans through BCBS in 2015. Indeed, Medica’s reason for exiting the small business exchange was based on low enrollment in the first two years.Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota continued to be the only insurer offering SHOP coverage via MNsure in 2017, but announced in July 2017 that they would no longer offer SHOP coverage in 2018, and would instead transition their SHOP enrollees to small business coverage outside the exchange. At that point, there were only 3,287 people enrolled in SHOP coverage in Minnesota — far below the 155,000 people that were originally projected to have coverage through MNsure’s SHOP program by 2016 (this much lower-than-anticipated enrollment has been the case in nearly every state’s SHOP exchange.

This situation is not unique to Minnesota). State law provided 25% premium rebate in 2017. Amendment to allow plans without essential benefits was cut from final legislationThroughout 2016, then-Governor Dayton called for a state-funded premium rebate for people who buy their own insurance but aren’t eligible for the ACA’s premium subsidies (those are only available for people with income up to 400 percent of the poverty level, or $100,400 for a family of four in 2019).Governor Dayton also noted that the government needed to act quickly to stabilize the individual market in Minnesota, and by late November 2016, his patience with lawmakers was wearing thin. In a November 23 press conference, Dayton said that House Republicans needed to “stop dilly-dallying” and decide whether to move forward with Dayton’s rebate proposal.Dayton had also indicated that he was considering calling a special session of the legislature after election day to address the situation, and that was being negotiated for December 20.

But the talks fell through when Dayton and Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt couldn’t agree on the three bills that would have been addressed in the special session. As a result, there was no special session.Instead, the issue was taken up by lawmakers as soon as the 2017 legislative session began. On January 5, Minnesota Senators Michelle Benson (R, 31st District) and Gary Dahms (R, 16th District) introduced S.F.1. The bill called for using $300 million in state funding to provide a 25 percent rebate to roughly 125,000 people in Minnesota.S.F.1 passed the Minnesota Senate by a 35-31 vote on January 12.

Only one DFL Senator (Melisa Franzen, from Edina) voted with Republicans in favor of the legislation. It was then sent to the House, where an amendment was added that stripped out the requirement that health plans provide various mandated benefits (see “Journal of the Day” section “Top of page 154” in this version of the bill. Under the terms of the amendment, as long as a carrier offered at least one plan with all the mandated benefits, they would have been allowed to offer others without mandated benefits).The amended bill was sent back to the Senate on January 23. Differences between the bills that the two chambers passed had to be reconciled before being sent to Governor Dayton for his signature.

By that point, the amendment to allow less-robust plans to be sold had garnered national attention, and public outrage helped to push lawmakers away from the provision. S.F.1 had also called for $150 million to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 (through June 30, 2019) from the state general fund to a state-based reinsurance program to stabilize the individual market (Alaska did something similar in 2016, preventing a market collapse), but that provision was also removed in the final version (Minnesota did ultimately set up a reinsurance program, effective in 2018, which has served to stabilize the market and reduce premiums).A Conference Committee in the Senate recommended that the House “recede from its amendments” and the Conference Committee report passed the Senate on a 47-19 vote. The House passed the bill a few hours later, 108-19. It was sent to Governor Dayton, who immediately signed it into law.

DFLers did have to compromise on one issue during the process. S.F.1 allows for-profit HMOs to begin operating in Minnesota’s individual market, which had long been limited to non-profit HMOs.Consumers were told to expect the premium rebates to show up by April 2017, but they were retroactively effective to January 2017. So a person who had been paying full price for a plan since January 2017 saw a substantial premium reduction on the April or May invoice. Going forward, for the remainder of the year, a 25 percent rebate applied each month.Since S.F.1 was signed into law with only a few days remaining in open enrollment (it ended January 31 that year), Governor Dayton and exchange officials were worried that there wouldn’t be enough time for people to learn about the rebate and apply for coverage before January 31.

In December, Dayton had asked HHS to allow MNsure to extend its enrollment deadline to February 28 (instead of January 31) in order to allow lawmakers more time to work out the details of a state-based premium rebate while still allowing people to enroll after the legislative process is complete.HHS denied the request for a blanket extension, but MNsure used their own authority on January 28 to grant a one-week special enrollment period (February 1 to February 8) due to exceptional circumstances. Although the state-based 25 percent premium rebate was available on or off the exchange, the one-week extension was only valid through MNsure. Health insurers did not have to accept off-exchange enrollments without a qualifying event after January 31.The 25 percent premium rebate program in Minnesota was only authorized for one year, so the rebates did not continue into 2018. And although almost 100,000 people received premium relief through the program in 2017, it ended up costing less than the legislature had allocated, and about $100 million was returned to the state’s budget at the end of 2017.Protecting Medicaid enrollees from estate liensIn every state, Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and the federal government.

Longstanding federal regulations, which predate the ACA, require states to “seek recovery of payments from the individual’s estate for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services” for any Medicaid enrollee over the age of 55. This applies essentially to long-term care services, but states also have the option to go after the individual’s estate to recover costs for other care that was provided by Medicaid after age 55.Prior to 2014, this wasn’t typically an issue, as Medicaid eligibility was generally restricted by asset tests or requirements that applicants be disabled or pregnant (although Minnesota did have much more generous Medicaid eligibility guidelines than most states prior to 2014). But as of 2014, in states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, the only eligibility guideline is income. Applicants with income that doesn’t exceed 138 percent of the poverty level are directed to Medicaid, regardless of any assets they might have.When applicants use the health insurance exchange — MNsure in Minnesota — they’re automatically funneled into Medical Assistance (Medicaid) if their income is under 138 percent of the poverty level.

But what these enrollees didn’t know was that the state also had a program in place to put liens on estates for Medicaid-provided services for people age 55 and older.The combination of these systems caught numerous residents off guard. They were enrolled in Medical Assistance through MNsure based on their income, but were not aware that liens were being placed on their homes so that the state could recoup the costs upon their deaths.State Senator Tony Lourey (DFL, District 11) addressed the issue with language included in HF2749, the Omnibus supplemental budget bill, which was signed into law by Governor Dayton on June 1, 2016. The legislation limits estate recovery to just what’s required under federal Medicaid rules (ie, essentially, long-term care costs for people age 55 or older), and makes the provision retroactive to January 1, 2014.Early tech strugglesMNsure opened for business in the fall of 2013, but technological issues persisted well into 2015, despite numerous improvements throughout 2014. Given MNsure’s difficult launch, the state conducted a series of audits and reviews.

The first audit reviewed how MNsure spent state and federal money. Auditors concluded that the exchange has generally adequate internal controls and found no fraud or abuse. The review was conducted by the state Office of the Legislative Auditor, and the report was published in October 2014.Another audit, also conducted by the Office of the Legislative Auditor and released in November 2014, found that the MNsure system in some cases incorrectly determined who qualified for public health benefits. The errors occurred during the first open enrollment period, before a series of system fixes were implemented.

The audit did not quantify the total financial impact of the errors. The state Human Services commissioner said a consultant working on technical fixes to MNsure concluded that the eligibility functionality was working correctly as of June 2014.A third audit, a performance evaluation report released in February 2015, said “MNsure’s failures outweighed its achievements.” Among other criticisms, auditors said MNsure staff withheld information from the board of directors and state officials, the enrollment website was seriously flawed and launched without adequate testing, and the first-year enrollment target was unrealistically low.In April 2014, MNsure hired Deloitte Consulting to audit MNsure’s technology and improve the website to make enrolling in coverage and updating life events easier and more streamlined. Deloitte has been involved in successful state-run marketplaces for Connecticut, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Washington.Software upgrades were installed in August 2014, and system testing continued right up until the start of open enrollment. To reduce wait times for consumers and insurance professionals, MNsure increased its call center and support staff and launched a dedicated service line for agents and brokers.More in-person assisters were available in Minnesota for the 2015 open enrollment period.

MNsure encourages residents to utilize the exchange’s assister directory to find local navigators and brokers who can help with the enrollment process.MNsure has improved dramatically in terms of its technology since the early days of ACA implementation, and enrollment increased every year from 2014 through 2019.Lawmakers approved switching to HealthCare.gov as of 2019, but governor vetoedOn May 9, 2017, lawmakers in Minnesota passed SF800, an omnibus health and human services bill. Among many other things, the legislation called for switching from MNsure to the federally-run marketplace (HealthCare.gov) starting in 2019 (see Section 5). But Governor Dayton vetoed it.Gov. Dayton has long been supportive of MNsure, and had previously clarified that he would veto the bill.

In noting his plans to veto the legislation, Dayton made no mention of the transition to HealthCare.gov that was included in the legislation, but focused instead on the sharp budget cuts in the bill. But his veto ensured that MNsure would remain in place, at least for the time being.The Senate’s original version of SF800 did not call for scrapping MNsure, but the bill went through considerable back-and-forth between the two chambers, and the version that passed was the 4th engrossment of the bill.In March 2015, Dayton had asked the legislature to create a Task Force on Health Care Financing that would study MNsure along with possible future alternatives. Dayton noted in his letter that he supported making MNsure “directly accountable to the governor and subject to the same legislative oversight as other state agencies” and his budget included half a million dollars devoted to the task force. The spending bill was approved by the legislature in May, and the 29-member task force was appointed in the summer.One of the possibilities that the task force considered was the possibility of switching to Healthcare.gov, but it’s clear that there was no cut-and-dried answer to the question of whether Minnesota is better served by having a state-run exchange, switching to a federally-run exchange, or teaming up with the federal government on either a supported state-based marketplace or partnership exchange.In a December 2015 meeting of the task force, the MN Department of Human Services presented a financial analysis of the alternatives available to MNsure.

They determined that switching entirely to Healthcare.gov would cost the state an additional $5.1 million in one-time costs from June 2016 to June 2017. And switching to a supported state-based marketplace would cost an additional $6.6 million during that same time frame. If the state had opted to switch to Healthcare.gov, the soonest it could have happened was 2018, since HHS requires a year’s notice from states wishing to transition to Healthcare.gov, and Minnesota wouldn’t have been in a position to make a decision until sometime in 2016.There were significant reservations about making that switch prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling on King v. Burwell.

The Court ruled in June 2015 that subsidies are legal in every state, including those that use Healthcare.gov. Prior to the decision, a switch to Healthcare.gov could have jeopardized subsidies for tens of thousands of Minnesota residents. But once it was clear that Healthcare.gov’s subsidies are safe, some stakeholders began calling for Minnesota to scrap its state-run exchange and use Healthcare.gov instead. Because the MNsure task force was included in the 2016 budget, no hasty decisions were made.In January 2016, the task force submitted their recommendations to the legislature.

They covered a broad range of issues, but did not recommend that MNsure transition to the federal enrollment platform. Lawmakers essentially left the exchange alone during the 2016 legislative session.The magnitude of the 2016 rate increases that were announced in October resulted in MNsure opponents renewing their calls to switch to Healthcare.gov. But it’s important to keep in mind that the 41 percent weighted average rate hike in Minnesota was market-wide, and did not just apply to MNsure enrollees. In fact, the off-exchange carrier (PreferredOne) had among the highest rate hikes in the state for 2016, at 39 percent, and the exchange’s weighted average rate increase (38.5 percent) was lower than the weighted average rate increase for the whole individual market (41 percent).Minnesota health insurance exchange linksMNsure855-3MNSURE (855-366-7873)State Exchange Profile.

MinnesotaThe Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation overview of Minnesota’s progress toward creating a state health insurance exchange.Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org. Her state health exchange updates are regularly cited by media who cover health reform and by other health insurance experts.Key takeaways Medicaid expansion in HawaiiHawaii adopted Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act, extending eligibility for Medicaid to adults with income up to 133 percent of the poverty level (138 percent with the automatic 5 percent income disregard).

Medicaid expansion took effect in January 2014.According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 70,000 Hawaii residents were uninsured in 2015. With Medicaid expansion now covering low-income, nonelderly adults, 50 percent of Hawaii’s remaining uninsured population at that point was eligible for Medicaid – although they may not realize that they’re eligible. According to U.S. Census data, only 3.5 percent of Hawaii residents were uninsured as of 2016, down from 6.7 percent in 2013.

Although the state’s uninsured rate was reduced by nearly half from 2013 to 2016, it was already less than half of the national average uninsured rate even in 2013, before the bulk of the ACA’s provisions had taken effect. Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act, which has been in place since the 1970s, had already resulted in nearly all of the state’s population having insurance coverage, even before the ACA took effect. However, with the asthma outbreak, job losses and the subsequent loss of employer-provided insurance have contributed to a jump in the uninsured rate across the U.S. As of May 2020, Hawaii’s uninsured rate was 10 percent.Medicaid expansion helped cement top-ranking health scores Federalpoverty levelcalculator 0.0% of Federal Poverty Level Hawaii has a long history of supporting initiatives to make health insurance broadly available to residents.

Hawaii was among the first six states that implemented a Medicaid program in January 1966, just six months after federal legislation authorizing the program was enacted. In 1974, Hawaii implemented its Prepaid Health Care Act, which mandated that most employers make health insurance available to employees who work at least 20 hours a week.In conjunction with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Hawaii initially implemented a state-run health insurance marketplace and adopted Medicaid expansion. The marketplace transitioned to a federally-supported state-run marketplace for 2016, and transitioned again to a fully federally-run exchange for 2017, largely in an effort to take advantage of the economies of scale that the federally-run exchange could bring to a state with low overall enrollment in the individual market (because of Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act, nearly all non-elderly Hawaii residents get coverage from an employer, and relatively few need coverage under individual market plans). Nothing changed about Medicaid with the switch to Healthcare.gov though.

The expanded Medicaid eligibility guidelines are still in effect in Hawaii.Through its efforts, Hawaii consistently has low uninsured rates and high overall health scores. As of 2015, Hawaii was ranked the healthiest state in the nation according to the Gallup Healthways Physical Wellbeing Index, and the state consistently scores near the top in other ranking systems (number 2 the America’s Health Rankings 2017 survey, and number 3 in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2017 Scorecard on State Health System Performance).Who is eligible for Medicaid in Hawaii?. Hawaii’s Medicaid eligibility levels for children are much higher than the national average and about average for pregnant women and parents.Children ages 0-18 qualify with family income levels up to 308 of the federal poverty level (FPL)Pregnant women qualify with family income up to 191 percent of FPLParents and other adults qualify with family income up to 138 percent of FPLHawaii also uses Medicaid funds to help cover premium costs for Hawaii residents who aren’t U.S. Citizens but who are citizens of nations that have entered into the Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the U.S.How do I enroll in Medicaid in Hawaii?.

Hawaii’s Medicaid program is called MED-QUEST (MQD). QUEST stands for Quality care, Universal access, Efficient utilization, Stabilizing costs, and Transforming the way health care is provided to recipients.You can apply for MED-QUEST. Hawaii Medicaid enrollment numbersMore than 351,000 people were enrolled in Hawaii’s Medicaid and CHIP programs as of June 2020. This figure is a 22% increase over 2013 (pre-ACA) enrollment, when about 288,000 people were enrolled.

Accordingly to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 107,300 of those enrolled in Hawaii Medicaid are part of the ACA-authorized expansion as of June 2019.Hawaii Medicaid historyHawaii implemented its Medicaid program in January 1966.In the early 1990s, Hawaii implemented the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to cover people who weren’t eligible for Medicaid. Then, in 1994, CMS approved Hawaii’s section 1115 Medicaid waiver (one of the first in the nation) to wrap SHIP in with Medicaid in an effort to achieve universal insurance coverage (in combination with the state’s Prepaid Health Care Act). The result of the waiver was the creation of Hawaii’s MED-QUEST program, which initially covered low-income women and children, but has since expanded (as of 2009) to cover nearly all of Hawaii’s Medicaid beneficiaries. The MED-QUEST waiver is subject to renewal every five years.Medicaid in Hawaii is separated into two different methods of providing services.

The fee-for-service (FFS) program and the managed care program, called MED-QUEST or MQD. Under the FFS program, doctors and other healthcare providers bill Medicaid directly to be reimbursed for services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. Under MED-QUEST, the state contracts with managed care plans who in turn provide healthcare services to Medicaid beneficiaries.As of 2011, more than 98 percent of the people enrolled in Hawaii’s Medicaid program were covered through managed care. By March 2015, Kaiser Family Foundation reported that 335,007 Medicaid enrollees in Hawaii were covered under managed care programs.

That’s higher than the August 2015 total Medicaid/CHIP enrollment count, but KFF notes that the managed care number includes people who are covered under Hawaii’s fully-state-funded Medicaid program, in addition to the majority of enrollees who are in regular Medicaid that’s funded partially by the state and partially by the federal government.In August 2017, Hawaii submitted a waiver amendment to CMS in order to gain federal approval to use Medicaid funding to provide housing services to qualified Medicaid enrollees who are homeless and also have behavioral health and/or substance abuse problems. That waiver request was still pending as of February 2018.Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org. Her state health exchange updates are regularly cited by media who cover health reform and by other health insurance experts..

Minnesota marketplace highlights and updatesOpen enrollment for 2021 health plans ventolin online canada. November 1, 2020 through December 22, 2020 ventolin online canada. Residents with qualifying events can still enroll or make changes to their 2020 coverage.Insurers implementing modest rate increases for 2021, after three straight years of average rate decreases. Quartz has joined the exchange for 2021, bringing total number of insurers to five.117,520 ventolin online canada people enrolled for 2020, a new record for MNsure.Insurer participation in MNsure.

2014 to 2021.Reinsurance program received federal approval, began operation in 2018.With reinsurance, rates decreased for 2018 and again, even more significantly, for 2019. But reinsurance also reduced funding for MinnesotaCare.The elimination of CSR funding further reduced MinnesotaCare funding, but this has been partly restored by a court ruling.MN provided premium relief for non-subsidy-eligible enrollees for 2017 only.Governor vetoed a proposed 2019 switch to HealthCare.gov.MNsure’s small business exchange no longer has any participating insurers.Minnesota health exchange overviewMinnesota’s one of ventolin online canada the states fighting the hardest to preserve the Affordable Care Act’s gains. See actions Minnesota has taken.Minnesota’s state-run exchange, MNsure, has five participating insurers for 2021, up from four in 2020. The exchange has more than 117,000 individual market enrollees as of 2020.As ventolin online canada a result of the asthma treatment ventolin, MNsure joined most of the other state-run exchanges in offering a special enrollment period during which people who were uninsured could enroll in a health plan.

MNsure’s special enrollment period began March 23, and continued through April 21. Nearly 9,500 Minnesota residents enrolled in private plans through MNsure during this window, as well as another 13,700 who enrolled in MinnesotaCare or Medicaid (enrollment in those programs is open year-round for eligible residents).Allison O’Toole, who led MNsure as CEO for three years, announced ventolin online canada her resignation in March 2018, and the exchange named Nate Clark, the MNsure COO, as acting CEO. A few months later, the MNsure board named Clark as the permanent CEO. O’Toole left MNsure to work as director of state affairs for United States of Care, a non-profit created by Andy Slavitt, who was the acting administrator of CMS under the ventolin online canada Obama Administration.Throughout 2017, Minnesotans who bought their own health insurance (on or off-exchange) and weren’t eligible for ACA subsidies were provided with 25 percent premium rebates from the state as a result of S.F.1, signed into law by Governor Dayton in early 2017.

The subsidies helped to offset the large premium increases that applied in Minnesota in 2017, and helped to stabilize the individual health insurance market in 2017. But the premium rebate program expired at the end of 2017.Thanks in large part to the new reinsurance program that Minnesota created (details below), premiums decreased in Minnesota’s individual market in 2018, 2019, and again in 2020, although ventolin online canada rates are increasing modestly for 2021. In May 2019, Minnesota leaders reached an agreement on a budget that included an extension of the reinsurance program through 2020 and 2021 (it has already been granted federal approval through the end of 2022, but the state has to continue to cover its share of the cost. Minnesota Governor ventolin online canada Tim Walz had hoped to implement a premium subsidy program and a new tax credit in Minnesota starting in 2020.

But a compromise in the budget ended up with the state opting to continue the existing reinsurance program for two more years instead.).But the waiver that provides federal pass-through funding for reinsurance also resulted in a sharp and unexpected decrease in federal funding for MinnesotaCare, the Basic Health Program that provides coverage for people with income between 138 percent and 200 percent of the poverty level (between $16,642 and $24,120 for a single person).In addition, the elimination of federal funding for cost-sharing reductions (CSR) in October 2018 resulted in a funding cut for MinnesotaCare, since the program is funded in large part by federal funds that would otherwise have been used to pay for premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions in the exchange for the population that is instead eligible for MinnesotaCare. After an ensuing legal battle, a judge ordered HHS to restore funding for MinnesotaCare, although a resolution of the ventolin online canada situation is ongoing, and the amount that HHS agreed to pay was still less than MinnesotaCare would have received if CSR funding had continued.Open enrollment for 2021 health plans extended through December 22, 2020. Insurers implementing modest rate increases for 2021, after three years of overall rate decreasesMNsure enabled window shopping for 2021 health plans as of October 12, 2020. This gives residents a few weeks to browse the ventolin online canada available plans before open enrollment starts on November 1, 2020.

And MNsure has announced that open enrollment will continue through December 22, 2020. That’s a week longer than the open enrollment period that will apply in states that use the federally-run exchange ventolin online canada. The flexibility to extend open enrollment is often cited as one of the benefits of having a fully state-run exchange. (MNsure had a similar extension last December, for 2020 health plans).For ventolin online canada 2021, Quartz is joining the Minnesota marketplace.

Quartz currently offers plans in Illinois and Wisconsin, and is expanding into Minnesota for 2021. And two of the existing insurers ventolin online canada — HealthPartners and UCare — are expanding their coverage areas for 2021 (BluePlus and Medica offer coverage statewide, and will continue to do so in 2021).The following average rate changes have been approved for MNsure’s insurers:Blue Plus. 4.21 percent increase (down ventolin online canada from an initially proposed 7.12 percent increase)Group Health/Health Partners (GHI). 0.67 percent increase (down from an initially proposed 4.15 percent increase)Medica.

2.42 percent increase (down from an initially proposed 7.06 ventolin online canada percent increase)UCare. 1.6 percent increase (up from an initially proposed 1.39 percent decrease)Quartz. New for 2021, so no applicable rate changePreferredOne Insurance Company, which ventolin online canada offers plans outside the exchange, is increasing premiums by 1.05 percent (down from an initially proposed average increase of 5.09 percent). Rate changes in previous years2015.

Average increase of ventolin online canada 4.5 percent. MNsure critics characterized the official announcement as misleading as it failed to take into account low-cost 2014 plans from PreferredOne. Consumers who bought a PreferredOne plan through MNsure for 2014 could only renew their policies for 2015 by working directly with the insurer, since PreferredOne stopped offering plans in the exchange at ventolin online canada the end of 2014. However, PreferredOne rates went up an average of 63 percent, and consumers didn’t qualify for subsidies if they shopped outside the exchange.

2016. Average increase of 41.4 percent for the individual market, and about 38.5 for plans sold in MNsure (ie, not counting PreferredOne). Rates increased significantly in 2016 across the entire individual market in Minnesota — including plans sold through MNsure, the state-run exchange.Approved rates for 2016 were announced on October 1, 2015, ranging from about 15 percent for Medica to 49 percent for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. In general, the carriers cited higher-than-expected claims costs over the past year, along with the impending phase-out of the ACA’s reinsurance program as justification for their 2016 rate requests.

But Governor Mark Dayton called some of the higher proposed increases “outrageous,” and promised a rigorous review of the filed rate changes and justifications. Ultimately, regulators were able to limit the highest rate increases to 49 percent — as opposed to the 54 percent that had been requested by Blue Plus and BCBS of MN — but the final weighted average rate increase in the individual market in Minnesota still ended up being the highest in the nation. But Minnesota still had the lowest overall premiums in the upper midwest (although Minnesota had the highest average rate increase in the country for 2016, they had the lowest overall rates in the country in 2014 and 2015).Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman called the rate increases “unacceptably high,” and Gov. Dayton noted that he was “extremely unhappy” with the rate changes.

But Rothman noted that his office “objected to all of the rates across the board,” and “squeezed out everything we could that was not actuarial justified.” In other words, the final rates, although much higher than officials and policyholders would have liked, were justified based on medical claims costs — the population enrolled in individual health plans in Minnesota was sicker than expected, and drug costs had been particularly onerous.Only about 55 percent of people who had 2015 coverage through MNsure received premium subsidies. But due to the sharp premium increases, that had increased to about 63 percent for the people who had purchased or renewed coverage as of June 2016.2017. When the Minnesota Department of Commerce announced health insurance rates for 2017 for the individual and small group markets, the rate hikes were somewhat reasonable in the small group market (ranging from a decrease of 1 percent to an increase of 17.8 percent), but the individual market was “experiencing serious disruptions in 2017” and “on the verge of collapse.” The four carriers that offered plans through MNsure had the following average rate increases in 2017:Blue Plus = 55 percentHealthPartners/Group Health (GHI) = 50 percent (HealthPartners is only offering plans in 10 of the 67 counties where they offered plans in 2016. Their enrollment cap is 72,000 for 2017)Medica = 57.5 percent (enrollment cap is 50,000 for 2017)UCare = 66.8 percent (UCare capped enrollment at 30,000 for 2017, but only had 16,000 enrollees in 2016)The enrollment caps that HealthPartners, Medica, and UCare employed for 2017 were approved as part of the rate review process, and are designed to protect carriers from further financial losses as they absorb BCBSMN’s enrollees who are shopping for new coverage during open enrollment.In a news release relating to the rate announcement for 2017, the Minnesota Department of Commerce didn’t mince words.

They noted that the individual market in the state was on the brink of collapse, and that they did everything in their power to save the market. While they succeeded in keeping the state’s individual market viable for 2017, with only one carrier exiting (BCBSMN, although their HMO affiliate, Blue Plus, remained in the exchange), they reiterated very clearly that substantial reforms would be needed to keep the market stable in future years, and highlighted the fact that rates would be sharply higher and that carriers would limit enrollment in 2017.2018. Final rates for 2018 were approved in October 2017 (comprehensive information about the approved rates is here), based on the Minnesota Premium Security Plan (MSPS) being implemented but cost-sharing reductions (CSR) not being funded by the federal government (the cost of CSRs was added to on-exchange Silver plans). Average approved rate changes for MNsure insurers ranged from a 13.3 percent decrease for UCare to a 2.8 percent increase for Blue Plus.

Three of the four MNsure insurers decreased their average premiums for 2018.On September 21, MNsure had posted a notice indicating that if the reinsurance program were not approved, rates would be about 20 percent higher than they would otherwise be in 2018. Fortunately for Minnesota residents, the reinsurance program did receive federal approval, and average rates declined slightly for 2018.But some enrollees who don’t get ACA premium subsidies still experienced a rate increase, due to the termination of the one-year, state-funded 25 percent premium rebates at the end of 2017.PreferredOne, which exited MNsure at the end of 2014 and only offers coverage in the off-exchange market, proposed dramatically lower rates for 2018. A 38 percent average decrease if MSPS were to be approved, and a 23 percent average decrease if not. The 38 percent decrease was implemented, and no adjustments were necessary to account for CSR funding, since PreferredOne does not offer plans in the exchange, and CSRs are only available on silver exchange plans.2019.

Average premium decrease of 12.4 percent. Average premiums dropped for all five insurers in the individual market in 2019. This was the second year in a row of declining rates in Minnesota, but Blue Plus had a small rate increase for 2018, so 2019 was the first year that all five insurers decreased their average rates. Minnesota insurance regulators noted that rates in 2019 were about 20 percent lower than they would have been without the reinsurance program.But most of Minnesota’s insurers charged higher rates in 2019 than they would have if the individual mandate penalty hadn’t been eliminated, and if access to short-term plans and association health plans hadn’t been expanded by the Trump administration.

For example, UCare’s rate filing notes that while average rates were decreasing by about 10 percent, the rate decrease would have been nearly 15 percent if the individual mandate penalty had remained in place.At ACA Signups, Charles Gaba calculated a weighted average rate decrease of 12.4 percent for 2019 in Minnesota, but noted that the average decrease would have been nearly 19 percent without those changes at the federal level.2020. Average premium decrease of 1 percent. Four of the five insurers (including PreferredOne, which only offers coverage off-exchange) in Minnesota’s individual market decreased their average premiums for 2020. This was the third year in a row that average individual market premiums dropped in Minnesota’s individual market, due in large part to the reinsurance program that the state has established.The following average rate changes were implemented for 2020:Blue Plus.

1.5 percent decrease (Blue Plus had originally proposed a 4.8 percent increase)Group Health/Health Partners (GHI). 1.26 percent decrease (GHI had originally proposed a 2.1 percent increase)Medica. 1.01 percent decrease (Medica had originally proposed an average decrease of 1.4 percent)UCare. 0.18 percent increase (UCare originally proposed a 0.3 percent increase)PreferredOne, which only offers off-exchange coverage, reduced their rates by an average of 20 percent, on the heels of an 11 percent decrease in 2019.

MNsure enrollment exceeded 116k in 2018, dropped to 113k for 2019, but grew to more than 1117k in 2020From 2014 through 2018, enrollment in MNsure’s individual market plans increased every year, reaching 116,358 people by 2018. That was the highest open enrollment total in MNsure’s history, despite the shorter enrollment period, which ended in mid-January instead of the end of January (open enrollment for 2018 coverage ended on December 15, 2017 in states that use HealthCare.gov, but MNsure opted to extend their enrollment window that year, and have also extended subsequent enrollment windows).Enrollment dropped for the first time in 2019, when 113,552 people enrolled in individual market plans through MNsure. In most states that use HealthCare.gov, enrollment peaked in 2016 and has been dropping since then. But MNsure’s drop-off in 2019, which amounted to only a 2.4 percent reduction in enrollment, is the only time year-over-year enrollment has declined.

Notably, the ACA’s individual mandate penalty was eliminated as of 2019, and regulations that the Trump administration implemented in late 2018 now make it more feasible for healthy people to use short-term plans instead of ACA-compliant plans (Minnesota has its own rules for short-term plans, but they’re more relaxed than the Obama-era federal rules that applied in 2017 and most of 2018).And for 2020, enrollment grew again, reaching a record high of 117,520 enrollees.Here’s a look at the number of people who have signed up for individual market plans through MNsure during each year’s open enrollment period. These numbers all represent total enrollment at the end of open enrollment. Effectuated enrollment is always lower, and MNsure provides periodic effectuated enrollment data on their board meeting materials page. Insurer participation in MNsure.

2014-20212014. Five insurers offered individual policies through MNsure for 2014. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners/Group Health, Medica, PreferredOne, and UCare. Kaiser Health News reported that Minnesota offered some of the lowest premiums for silver (mid-level) plans in the U.S.

Four of Minnesota’s nine regions made Kaiser’s list of the 10 least expensive places to buy health insurance.2015. But PreferredOne, which offered the lowest rates in the nation in 2014 and captured a large portion of 2014 enrollees, withdrew from MNsure for 2015. PreferredOne said remaining on the exchange was “not administratively and financially sustainable.” A Star Tribune business writer attributed PreferredOne’s departure as a market dynamics issue rather than a problem with MNsure.However, Blue Plus (an affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN, offering HMO plans) joined the exchange for 2015, so there were still five insurers offering plans for 2015. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health, Medica, and UCare.

MNsure offered 84 plans statewide, up from 78 for 2014.2016. BCBSMN, Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health, Medica, and UCare offered individual market plans through MNsure for 2016.2017. In an effort to recruit more carriers to offer plans through MNsure for 2017 — particularly outside the Twin Cities metro area — state regulators sent out a request for proposals from health insurers on August 15, 2016. Regulators noted that insurers could propose waivers of regulations in order to make it feasible for them to offer coverage through MNsure, although any such waiver requests would have to be approved by regulators.Steven Parente, a health insurance expert at the University of Minnesota, called the state’s effort to recruit insurers to MNsure a “distress call” and noted that August 15 is awfully late in the year to be putting out a request for insurer participation, given that open enrollment begins November 1.

And ultimately, no new insurers opted to join MNsure for 2017.Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN dropped their individual market PPO plans at the end of 2016 due to significant financial losses. That left Blue Plus (which offered HMOs and covered roughly 13,000 people in 2016 in the individual market) as the only BCBSMN affiliate in the exchange. Roughly 103,000 people had to select new plans during open enrollment.Most of those BCBSMN enrollees had off-exchange coverage, though. There were only about 20,400 MNsure enrollees (a little more than one in five MNsure enrollees) with coverage under BCBSMN who needed to switch to another plan during open enrollment.

BCBSMN had individual PPO options available in all 87 counties in Minnesota through MNsure in 2016, while the Blue Plus coverage area — comprised of four separate HMO networks — was available in 77 of the state’s counties.Nationwide, carriers have been shifting away from PPOs and towards HMOs and EPOs. In Colorado, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield also dropped their PPOs at the end of 2016. In Indiana, there were no PPOs available in the individual market by 2017. Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico dropped all of their individual market plans at the end of 2015 except one off-exchange HMO.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas dropped their individual market PPO plans at the end of 2015.The broad network offered by PPOs tends to be attractive to enrollees who have health problems. They’re often willing to pay higher premiums in trade for access to broad network of hospitals and specialists. But PPOs are expensive for carriers, as enrollees don’t need primary care referrals to see specialists, and it’s more challenging for carriers to hold down costs when there are more providers in the network.All of the MNsure carriers except Blue Plus are also limiting their total enrollment for 2017. By November 11, 2016, less than two weeks into open enrollment for 2017 coverage, Medica had hit their 50,000 member enrollment cap for 2017 (including on and off-exchange enrollments, and also accounting for expected renewals of 2016 Medica plans), and their policies were no longer available in the individual market in Minnesota, on or off-exchange.

The only exception was five counties (Benton, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Morrison, and Stearns) where Medica agreed not to limit enrollment, as all of the other available carriers in those counties have imposed enrollment caps too. In those five counties, Medica plans continued to be available.At that point, Medica’s market share in MNsure for 2017 stood at 34.2 percent. By December 14, Medica’s market share had dropped to 27.7 percent, as enrollments had continued to climb for the remaining carriers.On January 31, Medica re-opened enrollment for 2017. This was because a smaller-than-expected number of 2016 Medica enrollees renewed their plans for 2017, meaning that the carrier still had some wiggle room under their 50,000 member cap.

At that point, they had room for about 7,000 more enrollees. Medica plans were thus available throughout the duration of the special enrollment period that was added on at the end of open enrollment, and continue to be available for people with qualifying events.2018. Plans continued to be available from Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health (GHI), Medica, UCare. In the months before a decision was reached regarding an extension of the open enrollment window for 2018 plans (the first year that the federal government imposed a shorter, month-and-a-half enrollment window), two of MNsure’s participating insurers had differing positions.

UCare believed the exchange should add an additional two-week special enrollment period, while Medica did not want the exchange to have the option to extend the newly-scheduled six-week enrollment window. Notably, Medica capped their enrollment very early during the 2017 open enrollment period, and while UCare also had an enrollment cap, it was set with a target of nearly doubling their 2016 enrollment. But Medica is the only MNsure insurer that didn’t set an enrollment cap for 2018.As was the case for 2017, enrollment caps were used in the individual market in Minnesota for 2018 by all insurers other than Medica (Medica did have an enrollment cap for 2017, which they hit very early in open enrollment. However, they resumed enrollments at the end of January 2017).

Details about the insurers’ enrollment caps are in the plan binders in SERFF. For 2018, MNsure insurers implemented the following enrollment caps:Blue Plus. 55,000 member cap (aiming for a target of 50,000 effectuated enrollees, but effectuated enrollment is always lower than the number of people who initially enroll)Health Partners/Group Health (GHI). 73,400 member cap (aiming for a target of 70,000 effectuated enrollees)Medica.

No enrollment capUCare. 35,000 member cap (aiming for a target of 30,000 effectuated enrollees)MNsure confirmed in May 2018 that none of their insurers had hit their enrollment caps for 2018.Outside the exchange, PreferredOne had an enrollment cap of 3,000 members, although their 2017 membership was only about 300 people.2019 and 2020. Blue Plus, Health Partners/Group Health, UCare, and Medica have continued to offer plans through MNsure, and all of them continued to participate in 2020 as well. Blue Plus expanded to once again offer statewide coverage in 2020, for the first time since 2016.2021.

Quartz joined the exchange for 2021, joining the four existing insurers. HealthPartners and UCare are both expanding their coverage areas for 2021.Minnesota Premium Security Plan. 1332 waiver proposal approved by CMS, but with a significant funding cut for MinnesotaCareIn May 2017, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton submitted a 1332 waiver proposal to CMS. The 1332 waiver was based on H.F.5, which was enacted without Dayton’s signature in April 2017 (Dayton had proposed an alternative measure that would have allowed people in Minnesota to buy into MinnesotaCare.

That measure was not able to pass the state’s Republican-dominated legislature).[For more than two decades, MinnesotaCare was a state program subsidizing health insurance for low-income residents. As of January 1, 2015, it transitioned to a Basic Health Program under the ACA, becoming the first BHP in the nation.]H.F.5 created the Minnesota Premium Security Plan (MPSP), which is a state-based reinsurance program (similar to the one the ACA implemented on a temporary basis through 2016, and that Alaska created for 2017. Several other states have since implemented reinsurance programs). The reinsurance program, which took effect in Minnesota in 2018, covers a portion of the claims that insurers face, resulting in lower total claims costs for the insurers, and thus lower premiums (average individual market premiums in Minnesota decreased from 2017 to 2018 as a result of the reinsurance program).

The reinsurance kicks in once claims reach $50,000, and covers them at 80 percent up to $250,000 (this is similar to the coverage under the transitional reinsurance program that the ACA provided from 2014 through 2016).H.F.5 was contingent upon approval of the 1332 waiver, because it relies partially on federal funding, in addition to state funding. Under the federal approval that was granted in September 2017, the federal government is giving Minnesota the money that they save on premium tax credits, and that money is combined with state funds to implement the reinsurance program (lower premiums — as a result of the reinsurance program — result in the federal government having to pay a smaller total amount of premium tax credits, since the tax credits are smaller when premiums are smaller).It was expected that CMS would approve the state’s 1332 waiver proposal, and Governor Dayton requested that the approval process be swift so that the state could move forward with the implementation of the Minnesota Premium Security Plan in time for the 2018 plan year. Dayton indicated that his office had been told that approval would come in August 2017, but CMS didn’t approve the waiver until September 22. And the waiver approval letter noted that the federal savings for MinnesotaCare (the state’s Basic Health Program, or BHP) resulting from the reinsurance program would not be eligible to be passed along to the state — in other words, CMS would keep those savings instead.[Federal BHP funding is equal to 95 percent of the amount that the federal government would have otherwise spent on premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions for the population that ends up being eligible for the BHP.

So lower premiums — as a result of reinsurance — for qualified health plans in the exchange means that the amount the federal government would have had to spend on premium subsidies for that population is lower. That translates into a smaller amount of funding for the state’s BHP, according to the approach that HHS took for Minnesota’s waiver approval.]And based on the scathing letter that Dayton sent CMS a few days earlier, it appeared at that point that Minnesota could actually lose money on the deal — losing more in federal funding for MinnesotaCare than they gain in reinsurance funding. Dayton noted in his letter that the 1332 waiver approval process had been “nightmarish,” and that Minnesota went to great lengths to follow instructions from CMS at every turn, throughout the process of drafting H.F.5 and the 1332 waiver proposal. He explains that CMS provided Minnesota with explicit guidance in terms of how to draft the reinsurance program while maintaining full federal funding for MinnesotaCare, and highlighted the fact that the state never deviated from the instructions that were provided.The StarTribune editorial board called out then-Secretary of HHS, Tom Price and the Trump Administration for their lack of clarity on the issue, for apparently misleading the state during the 1332 waiver drafting process, and for effectively punishing the state of Minnesota for taking an innovative approach to ensuring that as many people as possible have health insurance.Insurers filed rates based on reinsurance being available.

And by the time the waiver was approved, there was very little time to evaluate the potential impacts of the funding changes, as rates had to be finalized by October 2 in Minnesota. The finalized rates did incorporate the reinsurance program. The state has accepted the approved waiver, but Gov. Dayton sent a letter to HHS on October 3, asking them to reconsider the MinnesotaCare funding cuts, but the issue has remained unresolved.Elimination of CSR funding results in additional funding cut for MinnesotaCare, but a lawsuit has partially restored that fundingNationwide, 54 percent of exchange enrollees benefit from cost-sharing subsidies.

But in Minnesota, only 13 percent of exchange enrollees are receiving cost-sharing subsidies. This is because of MinnesotaCare, which covers all enrollees with income up to 200 percent of the poverty level. That’s the same group that would otherwise benefit the most from cost-sharing subsidies, so the fact that MinnesotaCare is available means that most of the people who would otherwise be enrolled in cost-sharing subsidy plans are instead enrolled in MinnesotaCare.At first glance, this would appear to have made the uncertainty surrounding cost-sharing subsidy funding in 2017 a little less of a pressing issue in Minnesota than it was in many other states, since private insurers weren’t facing the sort of losses that insurers in other states were facing without federal funding for CSR. But when the Trump Administration eliminated federal funding for CSR in October 2017, HHS took the position tha t since CSR funding had been eliminated, the CSR portion of the federal funding for the BHPs in New York and Minnesota would be reduced to $0.

This was not a cut-and-dried conclusion, however, as explained earlier in 2017 by Michael Kalina.In January 2018, the Attorneys General for New York and Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services, seeking to restore funding for their Basic Health Programs. A judge ruled in favor of the states in May 2018, ensuring that MinnesotaCare would continue to receive at least some CSR-based funding. The amount awarded to the state for the first quarter of 2018 was just over half of what the state had initially expected in CSR-related funding, but a larger chuck of the funding was restored later in 2018. According to the Star Tribune, however, Minnesota still ended up losing $161 million in federal funding for MinnesotaCare due to the CSR funding cuts.In early 2019, the Trump administration proposed yet another funding cut (a third, after the cuts imposed by the reinsurance program and the elimination of CSR funding) as part of a new methodology for calculating BHP funding.

This one was much smaller than the other two cuts, but taken together the funding reductions are pushing MinnesotaCare towards a looming budget shortfall. SHOP exchange. Down to one carrier as of 2016, zero by 2018 (and still zero in 2019)In 2015, there were two carriers in MNsure’s SHOP exchange for small businesses. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and Medica.

But Medica announced in 2015 that they would exit the SHOP exchange in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin at the end of the year. That left BCBS as the only small group carrier available through MNsure in 2016, but it didn’t change much from a practical standpoint, since 83 percent of MNsure’s small groups were enrolled in plans through BCBS in 2015. Indeed, Medica’s reason for exiting the small business exchange was based on low enrollment in the first two years.Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota continued to be the only insurer offering SHOP coverage via MNsure in 2017, but announced in July 2017 that they would no longer offer SHOP coverage in 2018, and would instead transition their SHOP enrollees to small business coverage outside the exchange. At that point, there were only 3,287 people enrolled in SHOP coverage in Minnesota — far below the 155,000 people that were originally projected to have coverage through MNsure’s SHOP program by 2016 (this much lower-than-anticipated enrollment has been the case in nearly every state’s SHOP exchange.

This situation is not unique to Minnesota). State law provided 25% premium rebate in 2017. Amendment to allow plans without essential benefits was cut from final legislationThroughout 2016, then-Governor Dayton called for a state-funded premium rebate for people who buy their own insurance but aren’t eligible for the ACA’s premium subsidies (those are only available for people with income up to 400 percent of the poverty level, or $100,400 for a family of four in 2019).Governor Dayton also noted that the government needed to act quickly to stabilize the individual market in Minnesota, and by late November 2016, his patience with lawmakers was wearing thin. In a November 23 press conference, Dayton said that House Republicans needed to “stop dilly-dallying” and decide whether to move forward with Dayton’s rebate proposal.Dayton had also indicated that he was considering calling a special session of the legislature after election day to address the situation, and that was being negotiated for December 20.

But the talks fell through when Dayton and Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt couldn’t agree on the three bills that would have been addressed in the special session. As a result, there was no special session.Instead, the issue was taken up by lawmakers as soon as the 2017 legislative session began. On January 5, Minnesota Senators Michelle Benson (R, 31st District) and Gary Dahms (R, 16th District) introduced S.F.1. The bill called for using $300 million in state funding to provide a 25 percent rebate to roughly 125,000 people in Minnesota.S.F.1 passed the Minnesota Senate by a 35-31 vote on January 12.

Only one DFL Senator (Melisa Franzen, from Edina) voted with Republicans in favor of the legislation. It was then sent to the House, where an amendment was added that stripped out the requirement that health plans provide various mandated benefits (see “Journal of the Day” section “Top of page 154” in this version of the bill. Under the terms of the amendment, as long as a carrier offered at least one plan with all the mandated benefits, they would have been allowed to offer others without mandated benefits).The amended bill was sent back to the Senate on January 23. Differences between the bills that the two chambers passed had to be reconciled before being sent to Governor Dayton for his signature.

By that point, the amendment to allow less-robust plans to be sold had garnered national attention, and public outrage helped to push lawmakers away from the provision. S.F.1 had also called for $150 million to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 (through June 30, 2019) from the state general fund to a state-based reinsurance program to stabilize the individual market (Alaska did something similar in 2016, preventing a market collapse), but that provision was also removed in the final version (Minnesota did ultimately set up a reinsurance program, effective in 2018, which has served to stabilize the market and reduce premiums).A Conference Committee in the Senate recommended that the House “recede from its amendments” and the Conference Committee report passed the Senate on a 47-19 vote. The House passed the bill a few hours later, 108-19. It was sent to Governor Dayton, who immediately signed it into law.

DFLers did have to compromise on one issue during the process. S.F.1 allows for-profit HMOs to begin operating in Minnesota’s individual market, which had long been limited to non-profit HMOs.Consumers were told to expect the premium rebates to show up by April 2017, but they were retroactively effective to January 2017. So a person who had been paying full price for a plan since January 2017 saw a substantial premium reduction on the April or May invoice. Going forward, for the remainder of the year, a 25 percent rebate applied each month.Since S.F.1 was signed into law with only a few days remaining in open enrollment (it ended January 31 that year), Governor Dayton and exchange officials were worried that there wouldn’t be enough time for people to learn about the rebate and apply for coverage before January 31.

In December, Dayton had asked HHS to allow MNsure to extend its enrollment deadline to February 28 (instead of January 31) in order to allow lawmakers more time to work out the details of a state-based premium rebate while still allowing people to enroll after the legislative process is complete.HHS denied the request for a blanket extension, but MNsure used their own authority on January 28 to grant a one-week special enrollment period (February 1 to February 8) due to exceptional circumstances. Although the state-based 25 percent premium rebate was available on or off the exchange, the one-week extension was only valid through MNsure. Health insurers did not have to accept off-exchange enrollments without a qualifying event after January 31.The 25 percent premium rebate program in Minnesota was only authorized for one year, so the rebates did not continue into 2018. And although almost 100,000 people received premium relief through the program in 2017, it ended up costing less than the legislature had allocated, and about $100 million was returned to the state’s budget at the end of 2017.Protecting Medicaid enrollees from estate liensIn every state, Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and the federal government.

Longstanding federal regulations, which predate the ACA, require states to “seek recovery of payments from the individual’s estate for nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services” for any Medicaid enrollee over the age of 55. This applies essentially to long-term care services, but states also have the option to go after the individual’s estate to recover costs for other care that was provided by Medicaid after age 55.Prior to 2014, this wasn’t typically an issue, as Medicaid eligibility was generally restricted by asset tests or requirements that applicants be disabled or pregnant (although Minnesota did have much more generous Medicaid eligibility guidelines than most states prior to 2014). But as of 2014, in states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, the only eligibility guideline is income. Applicants with income that doesn’t exceed 138 percent of the poverty level are directed to Medicaid, regardless of any assets they might have.When applicants use the health insurance exchange — MNsure in Minnesota — they’re automatically funneled into Medical Assistance (Medicaid) if their income is under 138 percent of the poverty level.

But what these enrollees didn’t know was that the state also had a program in place to put liens on estates for Medicaid-provided services for people age 55 and older.The combination of these systems caught numerous residents off guard. They were enrolled in Medical Assistance through MNsure based on their income, but were not aware that liens were being placed on their homes so that the state could recoup the costs upon their deaths.State Senator Tony Lourey (DFL, District 11) addressed the issue with language included in HF2749, the Omnibus supplemental budget bill, which was signed into law by Governor Dayton on June 1, 2016. The legislation limits estate recovery to just what’s required under federal Medicaid rules (ie, essentially, long-term care costs for people age 55 or older), and makes the provision retroactive to January 1, 2014.Early tech strugglesMNsure opened for business in the fall of 2013, but technological issues persisted well into 2015, despite numerous improvements throughout 2014. Given MNsure’s difficult launch, the state conducted a series of audits and reviews.

The first audit reviewed how MNsure spent state and federal money. Auditors concluded that the exchange has generally adequate internal controls and found no fraud or abuse. The review was conducted by the state Office of the Legislative Auditor, and the report was published in October 2014.Another audit, also conducted by the Office of the Legislative Auditor and released in November 2014, found that the MNsure system in some cases incorrectly determined who qualified for public health benefits. The errors occurred during the first open enrollment period, before a series of system fixes were implemented.

The audit did not quantify the total financial impact of the errors. The state Human Services commissioner said a consultant working on technical fixes to MNsure concluded that the eligibility functionality was working correctly as of June 2014.A third audit, a performance evaluation report released in February 2015, said “MNsure’s failures outweighed its achievements.” Among other criticisms, auditors said MNsure staff withheld information from the board of directors and state officials, the enrollment website was seriously flawed and launched without adequate testing, and the first-year enrollment target was unrealistically low.In April 2014, MNsure hired Deloitte Consulting to audit MNsure’s technology and improve the website to make enrolling in coverage and updating life events easier and more streamlined. Deloitte has been involved in successful state-run marketplaces for Connecticut, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Washington.Software upgrades were installed in August 2014, and system testing continued right up until the start of open enrollment. To reduce wait times for consumers and insurance professionals, MNsure increased its call center and support staff and launched a dedicated service line for agents and brokers.More in-person assisters were available in Minnesota for the 2015 open enrollment period.

MNsure encourages residents to utilize the exchange’s assister directory to find local navigators and brokers who can help with the enrollment process.MNsure has improved dramatically in terms of its technology since the early days of ACA implementation, and enrollment increased every year from 2014 through 2019.Lawmakers approved switching to HealthCare.gov as of 2019, but governor vetoedOn May 9, 2017, lawmakers in Minnesota passed SF800, an omnibus health and human services bill. Among many other things, the legislation called for switching from MNsure to the federally-run marketplace (HealthCare.gov) starting in 2019 (see Section 5). But Governor Dayton vetoed it.Gov. Dayton has long been supportive of MNsure, and had previously clarified that he would veto the bill.

In noting his plans to veto the legislation, Dayton made no mention of the transition to HealthCare.gov that was included in the legislation, but focused instead on the sharp budget cuts in the bill. But his veto ensured that MNsure would remain in place, at least for the time being.The Senate’s original version of SF800 did not call for scrapping MNsure, but the bill went through considerable back-and-forth between the two chambers, and the version that passed was the 4th engrossment of the bill.In March 2015, Dayton had asked the legislature to create a Task Force on Health Care Financing that would study MNsure along with possible future alternatives. Dayton noted in his letter that he supported making MNsure “directly accountable to the governor and subject to the same legislative oversight as other state agencies” and his budget included half a million dollars devoted to the task force. The spending bill was approved by the legislature in May, and the 29-member task force was appointed in the summer.One of the possibilities that the task force considered was the possibility of switching to Healthcare.gov, but it’s clear that there was no cut-and-dried answer to the question of whether Minnesota is better served by having a state-run exchange, switching to a federally-run exchange, or teaming up with the federal government on either a supported state-based marketplace or partnership exchange.In a December 2015 meeting of the task force, the MN Department of Human Services presented a financial analysis of the alternatives available to MNsure.

They determined that switching entirely to Healthcare.gov would cost the state an additional $5.1 million in one-time costs from June 2016 to June 2017. And switching to a supported state-based marketplace would cost an additional $6.6 million during that same time frame. If the state had opted to switch to Healthcare.gov, the soonest it could have happened was 2018, since HHS requires a year’s notice from states wishing to transition to Healthcare.gov, and Minnesota wouldn’t have been in a position to make a decision until sometime in 2016.There were significant reservations about making that switch prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling on King v. Burwell.

The Court ruled in June 2015 that subsidies are legal in every state, including those that use Healthcare.gov. Prior to the decision, a switch to Healthcare.gov could have jeopardized subsidies for tens of thousands of Minnesota residents. But once it was clear that Healthcare.gov’s subsidies are safe, some stakeholders began calling for Minnesota to scrap its state-run exchange and use Healthcare.gov instead. Because the MNsure task force was included in the 2016 budget, no hasty decisions were made.In January 2016, the task force submitted their recommendations to the legislature.

They covered a broad range of issues, but did not recommend that MNsure transition to the federal enrollment platform. Lawmakers essentially left the exchange alone during the 2016 legislative session.The magnitude of the 2016 rate increases that were announced in October resulted in MNsure opponents renewing their calls to switch to Healthcare.gov. But it’s important to keep in mind that the 41 percent weighted average rate hike in Minnesota was market-wide, and did not just apply to MNsure enrollees. In fact, the off-exchange carrier (PreferredOne) had among the highest rate hikes in the state for 2016, at 39 percent, and the exchange’s weighted average rate increase (38.5 percent) was lower than the weighted average rate increase for the whole individual market (41 percent).Minnesota health insurance exchange linksMNsure855-3MNSURE (855-366-7873)State Exchange Profile.

MinnesotaThe Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation overview of Minnesota’s progress toward creating a state health insurance exchange.Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org. Her state health exchange updates are regularly cited by media who cover health reform and by other health insurance experts.Key takeaways Medicaid expansion in HawaiiHawaii adopted Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act, extending eligibility for Medicaid to adults with income up to 133 percent of the poverty level (138 percent with the automatic 5 percent income disregard).

Medicaid expansion took effect in January 2014.According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 70,000 Hawaii residents were uninsured in 2015. With Medicaid expansion now covering low-income, nonelderly adults, 50 percent of Hawaii’s remaining uninsured population at that point was eligible for Medicaid – although they may not realize that they’re eligible. According to U.S. Census data, only 3.5 percent of Hawaii residents were uninsured as of 2016, down from 6.7 percent in 2013.

Although the state’s uninsured rate was reduced by nearly half from 2013 to 2016, it was already less than half of the national average uninsured rate even in 2013, before the bulk of the ACA’s provisions had taken effect. Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act, which has been in place since the 1970s, had already resulted in nearly all of the state’s population having insurance coverage, even before the ACA took effect. However, with the asthma outbreak, job losses and the subsequent loss of employer-provided insurance have contributed to a jump in the uninsured rate across the U.S. As of May 2020, Hawaii’s uninsured rate was 10 percent.Medicaid expansion helped cement top-ranking health scores Federalpoverty levelcalculator 0.0% of Federal Poverty Level Hawaii has a long history of supporting initiatives to make health insurance broadly available to residents.

Hawaii was among the first six states that implemented a Medicaid program in January 1966, just six months after federal legislation authorizing the program was enacted. In 1974, Hawaii implemented its Prepaid Health Care Act, which mandated that most employers make health insurance available to employees who work at least 20 hours a week.In conjunction with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Hawaii initially implemented a state-run health insurance marketplace and adopted Medicaid expansion. The marketplace transitioned to a federally-supported state-run marketplace for 2016, and transitioned again to a fully federally-run exchange for 2017, largely in an effort to take advantage of the economies of scale that the federally-run exchange could bring to a state with low overall enrollment in the individual market (because of Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act, nearly all non-elderly Hawaii residents get coverage from an employer, and relatively few need coverage under individual market plans). Nothing changed about Medicaid with the switch to Healthcare.gov though.

The expanded Medicaid eligibility guidelines are still in effect in Hawaii.Through its efforts, Hawaii consistently has low uninsured rates and high overall health scores. As of 2015, Hawaii was ranked the healthiest state in the nation according to the Gallup Healthways Physical Wellbeing Index, and the state consistently scores near the top in other ranking systems (number 2 the America’s Health Rankings 2017 survey, and number 3 in the Commonwealth Fund’s 2017 Scorecard on State Health System Performance).Who is eligible for Medicaid in Hawaii?. Hawaii’s Medicaid eligibility levels for children are much higher than the national average and about average for pregnant women and parents.Children ages 0-18 qualify with family income levels up to 308 of the federal poverty level (FPL)Pregnant women qualify with family income up to 191 percent of FPLParents and other adults qualify with family income up to 138 percent of FPLHawaii also uses Medicaid funds to help cover premium costs for Hawaii residents who aren’t U.S. Citizens but who are citizens of nations that have entered into the Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the U.S.How do I enroll in Medicaid in Hawaii?.

Hawaii’s Medicaid program is called MED-QUEST (MQD). QUEST stands for Quality care, Universal access, Efficient utilization, Stabilizing costs, and Transforming the way health care is provided to recipients.You can apply for MED-QUEST. Hawaii Medicaid enrollment numbersMore than 351,000 people were enrolled in Hawaii’s Medicaid and CHIP programs as of June 2020. This figure is a 22% increase over 2013 (pre-ACA) enrollment, when about 288,000 people were enrolled.

Accordingly to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 107,300 of those enrolled in Hawaii Medicaid are part of the ACA-authorized expansion as of June 2019.Hawaii Medicaid historyHawaii implemented its Medicaid program in January 1966.In the early 1990s, Hawaii implemented the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to cover people who weren’t eligible for Medicaid. Then, in 1994, CMS approved Hawaii’s section 1115 Medicaid waiver (one of the first in the nation) to wrap SHIP in with Medicaid in an effort to achieve universal insurance coverage (in combination with the state’s Prepaid Health Care Act). The result of the waiver was the creation of Hawaii’s MED-QUEST program, which initially covered low-income women and children, but has since expanded (as of 2009) to cover nearly all of Hawaii’s Medicaid beneficiaries. The MED-QUEST waiver is subject to renewal every five years.Medicaid in Hawaii is separated into two different methods of providing services.

The fee-for-service (FFS) program and the managed care program, called MED-QUEST or MQD. Under the FFS program, doctors and other healthcare providers bill Medicaid directly to be reimbursed for services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. Under MED-QUEST, the state contracts with managed care plans who in turn provide healthcare services to Medicaid beneficiaries.As of 2011, more than 98 percent of the people enrolled in Hawaii’s Medicaid program were covered through managed care. By March 2015, Kaiser Family Foundation reported that 335,007 Medicaid enrollees in Hawaii were covered under managed care programs.

That’s higher than the August 2015 total Medicaid/CHIP enrollment count, but KFF notes that the managed care number includes people who are covered under Hawaii’s fully-state-funded Medicaid program, in addition to the majority of enrollees who are in regular Medicaid that’s funded partially by the state and partially by the federal government.In August 2017, Hawaii submitted a waiver amendment to CMS in order to gain federal approval to use Medicaid funding to provide housing services to qualified Medicaid enrollees who are homeless and also have behavioral health and/or substance abuse problems. That waiver request was still pending as of February 2018.Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org. Her state health exchange updates are regularly cited by media who cover health reform and by other health insurance experts..

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Social and community gatherings are expected to increase during the glaxosmithkline coupons for ventolin upcoming holiday period and it is very likely asthma treatment will continue to circulate in the community, including among people with mild or no symptoms.It is important we all continue to take advantage of outdoor venues and maintain the asthma treatment-safe practices we have become used to, such as physical distancing, wearing a mask in places where you can’t distance from others, and practising good hand hygiene.Contact tracing to contain the transmission of the ventolin depends on businesses having effective asthma treatment Safety plans and customer sign-in processes. The recent cluster in south western Sydney highlights the importance of these measures, and we urge businesses and patrons to do their part.To help stop the spread of asthma treatment. If you are unwell, get tested and isolate right glaxosmithkline coupons for ventolin away – don’t delay.Wash your hands regularly. Take hand sanitiser with you when you go out.Keep your distance. Leave 1.5 metres between yourself and others glaxosmithkline coupons for ventolin.

Wear a mask when using public transport, rideshares and taxis, and in shops, places of worship and other places where you can’t physically distance. When taking taxis or rideshares, commuters glaxosmithkline coupons for ventolin should also sit in the back.There are more than 300 asthma treatment testing locations across NSW. To find your nearest clinic visit asthma treatment testing clinics or contact your GP. Most people receive their test results within 24 hours.Likely source of confirmed asthma treatment cases in NSWOverseas 3262,312Interstate 0090Locally acquired – contact of a confirmed case and/or in a known cluster 091,474Locally acquired – glaxosmithkline coupons for ventolin source not identified 01397Note. Case counts reported for a particular day may vary over time due to ongoing investigations and case review.*notified from 8pm on 6 November 2020 to 8pm 7 November 2020**from 8pm 1 November 2020 to 8pm 7 November 2020Returned travellers in hotel quarantine to dateSymptomatic travellers tested 6,591Found positive 150Asymptomatic travellers screened at day 2 43,675Found positive239Asymptomatic travellers screened at day 1055,753Found positive139Video update.

No cases of locally acquired asthma treatment were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.Seven cases were reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,280 since ventolin online canada the start of the ventolin.Confirmed cases (including interstate residents in NSW health care facilities)4,280Deaths (including NSW from confirmed cases)55Total tests carried out3,176,816There were 9,499 tests reported Buy amoxil online usa to 8pm last night, compared with 13,721 in the previous 24 hours. NSW Health is treating 63 ventolin online canada asthma treatment cases. One patient is in intensive care and does not require ventilation. Ninety-five per cent of cases being treated by NSW Health are in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.NSW Health would like to thank recent cases in the Moss Vale area, in the Southern Highlands, for coming forward for testing, which helps protect other members of the ventolin online canada community.As the original source of s has not yet been found, we are concerned that other people in the broader Southern Highlands area may have unrecognised . NSW Health is calling on people in this area to come forward for testing if they have even the mildest asthma treatment symptoms.

The new walk-in asthma treatment clinic at Moss Vale Showground, 16 Illawarra Highway, Moss Vale remains open from 9am to 5pm.Testing allows us ventolin online canada to prevent onward transmission by helping us identify as many cases in the community as quickly as possible. Every person who comes forward for testing is playing an important role in helping to contain the spread of asthma treatment.NSW Health is also calling on people in the Rouse Hill area to get tested if they have even the mildest asthma treatment symptoms after the state’s sewage surveillance program detected traces of the ventolin in the area. The catchment takes sewage from approximately 120,000 people.Fragments of the ventolin that causes asthma treatment have been detected in samples taken on Thursday 5 November from the sewerage system that drains parts of Quakers Hill, Castle Hill, Annangrove, Kellyville, Box Hill, Kenthurst, Glenhaven, The Ponds, Rouse Hill, North Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge, Beaumont Hills, Stanhope Gardens, Baulkham Hills, Glenwood, Bella Vista, Parklea, Acacia Gardens and Norwest.The ventolin online canada positive sewage result can be due to shedding of the ventolin by someone who may have previously had the illness, with the ventolin ‘shedding’ through their system for up to six to eight weeks later. The last locally acquired case who lives in this area was reported on Tuesday 8 September so there are concerns that other people living or working in the area may have the without knowing it. If this is the case, we need the community’s support to find any cases by getting tested.To help stop the spread of asthma treatment:If you ventolin online canada are unwell, get tested and isolate right away – don’t delay.Wash your hands regularly.

Take hand sanitiser with you when you go out.Keep your distance. Leave 1.5 metres between yourself and others.Wear a mask when using public transport, rideshares and taxis, and in shops, places of ventolin online canada worship and other places where you can’t physically distance. When taking taxis or rideshares, commuters should also sit in the back.There are more than 300 asthma treatment testing locations across NSW. To find your nearest clinic visit asthma treatment testing ventolin online canada clinics or contact your GP. Most people receive their test results within 24 hours.Likely source of confirmed asthma treatment cases in NSWOverseas7292,319Interstate0090Locally acquired – contact of a confirmed case and/or in a known cluster081,474Locally acquired – source not identified01397Note.

Case counts reported for a particular day may vary over time due to ongoing investigations and case review ventolin online canada. *notified from 8pm on 7 November 2020 to 8pm 8 November 2020**from 8pm 2 November 2020 to 8pm 8 November 2020 Returned travellers in hotel quarantine to dateSymptomatic travellers tested6,615Found positive150Asymptomatic travellers screened at day 244,088Found positive241Asymptomatic travellers screened at day 1056,155Found positive139NSW has reported no new cases of locally transmitted asthma treatment in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.Three cases were reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,273. Confirmed cases (including interstate residents in NSW health care facilities) 4,273 Deaths (in NSW from confirmed cases) 55 Total tests carried out 3,167,317 There were 13,721 ventolin online canada tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with 14,697 in the previous 24 hours. Of the three new cases to 8pm last night, all were acquired overseas and are now in hotel quarantine.NSW Health is treating 63 asthma treatment cases. One patient ventolin online canada is in intensive care and does not require ventilation.

Ninety-five per cent of cases being treated by NSW ventolin online canada Health are in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.NSW Health thanks the community for coming forward to get tested. We continue to urge anyone with even the mildest of symptoms to seek testing immediately, then remain in isolation until a negative result is received. The source of ventolin online canada the recent cases in Moss Vale remains under investigation. Due to these and other recent cases, in line with previous advice the call for testing continues to apply particularly to people in South Western Sydney, including in and around the communities of Leppington, Hoxton Park and Prestons. And to people in the Southern Highlands region, ventolin online canada including the communities in and around Moss Vale, Mittagong and Bowral.

Extra testing capacity has been made available in these regions. The process of becoming infected and infecting ventolin online canada others often occurs silently, invisibly, and inadvertently. It is evident that the ventolin has an ability to readily spread from person to person. Some who are infected with the ventolin may not be aware that they have the , where symptoms are mild or not present at all ventolin online canada. To ensure we can continue to control the spread of the ventolin, it is most important to step forward for testing if there is any concern at all that you may have been exposed or may have symptoms.

Social and community gatherings are expected to increase during the upcoming holiday period and it is very likely asthma treatment will continue to circulate in the community, including among people with mild or no symptoms.It is important we all continue to take advantage of outdoor venues and maintain the asthma treatment-safe practices we have become used to, such as ventolin online canada physical distancing, wearing a mask in places where you can’t distance from others, and practising good hand hygiene.Contact tracing to contain the transmission of the ventolin depends on businesses having effective asthma treatment Safety plans and customer sign-in processes. The recent cluster in south western Sydney highlights the importance of these measures, and we urge businesses and patrons to do their part.To help stop the spread of asthma treatment. If you are unwell, get tested and isolate right away – don’t delay.Wash your hands ventolin online canada regularly. Take hand sanitiser with you when you go out.Keep your distance. Leave 1.5 metres between yourself and ventolin online canada others.

Wear a mask when using public transport, rideshares and taxis, and in shops, places of worship and other places where you can’t physically distance. When taking ventolin online canada taxis or rideshares, commuters should also sit in the back.There are more than 300 asthma treatment testing locations across NSW. To find your nearest clinic visit asthma treatment testing clinics or contact your GP. Most people ventolin online canada receive their test results within 24 hours.Likely source of confirmed asthma treatment cases in NSWOverseas 3262,312Interstate 0090Locally acquired – contact of a confirmed case and/or in a known cluster 091,474Locally acquired – source not identified 01397Note. Case counts reported for a particular day may vary over time due to ongoing investigations and case review.*notified from 8pm on 6 November 2020 to 8pm 7 November 2020**from 8pm 1 November 2020 to 8pm 7 November 2020Returned travellers in hotel quarantine to dateSymptomatic travellers tested 6,591Found positive 150Asymptomatic travellers screened at day 2 43,675Found positive239Asymptomatic travellers screened at day 1055,753Found positive139Video update.

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