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  CMS Final Rule Extends Marketplace Open Enrollment to January 15, 2022 On September 17, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized changes that follow through on President Biden’s promise to build on the Affordable Care Act and expand health coverage access for Americans. The changes are the third installment of the payment notice for 2022.   There are many important policy updates that Marketplace agents and brokers should be aware of prior to the beginning of the plan year 2022 Open Enrollment Period (OEP). These include: An extension of the OEP is extended from November 1, 2021, to January 15, 2022, annually for Marketplaces on the federal platform. Clarification for Special Enrollment Period (SEP) rules regarding enrollees who qualify for a maximum advance premium tax credit (APTC) amount of zero dollars. A monthly SEP for APTC-eligible individuals whose household income does not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Clarification on t

  CVS-Aetna Branded Obamacare Plans Target 8 States For 2022 Launch CVS Health is looking to sell individual coverage with the “CVS-Aetna” brand on exchanges under the Affordable Care Act in up to eight states for 2022. Citing better market conditions and quality low priced health plans it can offer. CVS Health’s Aetna health insurance unit left the ACA’s exchanges four years ago under prior Aetna management along with other insurers that were unable to manage rising costs of uninsured patients signing up for such coverage. CVS explained the company is just now working with insurance regulators and submitting plans and rates to offer individual coverage under the ACA, which is also known as Obamacare after President Obama. CVS isn’t yet disclosing the states it plans to offer these plans, executives confirmed Tuesday. The CVS-Aetna move back into the ACA individual business comes under a more supportive White House under President Joe Biden, who was Obama’s vice president when the ACA

  US Comes In Last In Health Care Rankings Of High-income Countries The US once again, ranks last in access to health care, equity, and spending among high-income countries, despite spending a far greater share of its economy on health care. The nation has landed at the bottom of all seven studies the Commonwealth Fund has conducted since 2004. The US is the only one of the 11 countries surveyed not to have universal healthcare coverage. The latest data does not reflect the impact of the pandemic, but it lays out the strengths and weaknesses of each country's health care system when Covid-19 impacted the world in early 2020. US health insurance does not provide enough protection, which compromises Americans' health and finances, which would promote better health care access and quality, particularly for the uninsured and disadvantaged. This causes people to skip care or become burdened with medical debt. Half of lower-income US adults reported that they did not receive care bec

Vaccine Cut Odds of Long Covid by Half  New research from the UK is some of the first to examine the potential risk of experiencing lingering symptoms after a case of covid-19 in vaccinated people, a phenomenon often known as  long covid . The study suggests that vaccinated people who become infected are half as likely to experience long-lasting symptoms than the unvaccinated. Importantly, this reduction in risk is in addition to the protection against any symptoms from covid-19 that vaccination already provides. The data for this new research,  published  Wednesday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, comes from the COVID Symptom Study: a long-running project that’s tried to keep track of the pandemic’s spread with a free mobile app, through which people in the UK are encouraged to report any covid-like symptoms they experience and other relevant details, including whether they’ve tested positive for the virus as well as their vaccination status. The app was launched in March 2020, and

We heard you. We listened. We took action. The new Molina Marketplace Provider Online Directory is live for all Molina states and lines of business!    New Provider Directory includes: Improved look and feel Google-esque search functionality Search by category or common searches Interactive map Multiple languages Members can login using their My Molina account to see only doctors contracted with their plan Once logged in, all settings can be customized to the member 1. Visit:  https://molina. sapphirethreesixtyfive.com/ 2. Select the State and Marketplace plan (i.e. “TX – Molina Marketplace”) 3. Enter the zip code you’d like to search 4. Adjust the radius as needed, the default is 10 miles     And don't forget about your Molina Contracting now available for 2022!  

  Agents and Brokers: Get Contracted & Appointed to Sell  Cigna ACA & Dental Plans  Today! Cigna Is Adding 93 Counties - Increasing Customer Reach By Nearly 64%  Cigna Individual and Family Plans is happy to announce an  expansion to three new states and 93 new counties for 2022 . This means more of your customers can access Cigna products and you can enjoy a more successful Open Enrollment Period.  Register  for the upcoming Market Launch Event Series to learn more about Cigna’s 2022 expansion and product options in your markets. Our markets include :  Markets: Individual and Family Cigna Products: ACA On and Off-Exchange Health Plans, Dental 2022 ACA State Availability: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia 2022 ACA Expansion Areas: Arizona  – Expanding to Gila, Pinal, and Yavapai Florida  – Expanding to Miami-Dade Georgia  – 43 counties covering southeastern GA Mississippi  –

  Health Care Service Corporation Launches Biggest Expansion of Medicare Advantage Plans in Company’s History Healthcare Service Corporation (HCSC), which operates health plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, announced the business is increasing its footprint in the Medicare Advantage market to serve in addition to 90 new counties, increasing access to new inclusion options for in addition to 1.1M additional Medicare-eligible people. The expansion is the business concern’s largest aid area and product growth in its record, particularly in rural and underserved areas. HCSC’s Medicare Advantage plans grant Medicare-eligible individuals greater flexibility and choice fashionable coverage, offering enhanced benefits. Premiums can vary by geography, with some $0 premium HMO and PPO plan offerings. Medicare Advantage plans could also support additional benefits beyond usual Medicare, including (or the alternative to purchase) dental, vision, and hearing insurance at a

With highly effective coronavirus vaccines available and hospital admissions soaring, many Covid-19 patients are facing bigger bills as most insurance companies have ended waivers on out-of-pocket costs that they introduced earlier in the pandemic, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a cost that will be primarily borne by the unvaccinated people more likely to require hospital treatment.  KEY FACTS Earlier in the pandemic, the vast  majority  of private health insurers voluntarily waived out-of-pocket costs for Covid-19 treatment, meaning some 88% of people with insurance coverage would have paid nothing if hospitalized.   With no federal mandate requiring insurers to waive these costs, few regulations requiring them to do so  at the state level  and the wide availability of effective vaccines, the majority have now passed these costs back to patients,  according  to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Of the two largest health plans in each state and Washington, D.C

Three ways to engage throughout Life Insurance Awareness Month. Your clients and prospects have lived through many changes over the past two years, which have underscored the need for life insurance more than ever before. Take this opportunity to reach out and help them understand what “With life insurance, I’ve got you.” might mean to them and to their loved ones. Three ways to engage throughout Life Insurance Awareness Month: Check NL Edge for weekly sales ideas.   Each week, we’ll feature a new sales idea in NL Edge to give you new insight and a competitive advantage. Get social.  Connect with clients and future customers using the power of social media. You will find a wealth of life insurance themed content available. Affiliated Agents: Please ensure NLG content is only shared through approved social media sites using Hearsay. See the Affiliated Social Media Playbook for how to do this. Independent Agents: Review the Social Media Playbook and don’t forget to follow the D

CMS will provide updates and information agents and brokers need to successfully operate in the marketplace.   Checkout the available ACA Certifications & ACA Contracting