District of Columbia: 19.8K QHPs, 40K Medicaid, 15.6K SHOP (UPDATED)

The DC exchange doesn't post updates often, but when they do it's simple, to the point data...and as a bonus, they're one of the few exchanges to include SHOP data (probably because they're one of the few where SHOP enrollments are above 4 figures, thanks to the weird ACA rule requiring Congressional staffers to enroll using it).

From October 1, 2013 to January 11, 2015, over 74,100 people have enrolled in health insurance coverage through DC Health Link in private health plans and Medicaid:

  •  19,473 people, including new customers from the 2nd Open Enrollment Period , have enrolled in private health plans through the DC Health Link individual and family marketplace;
  •  39,137 people were determined eligible for Medicaid coverage through DC Health Link; and
  •  15,570 people enrolled through the DC Health Link small business marketplace and members and staff from US Congress.

The only problem here is that they keep using Oct 1st, 2013 as their start-date, making all 3 numbers problematic, because it likely means that it includes people who dropped their coverage/policy at some point last year. I've asked for clarification, but until then I have to use the first batch of numbers to recalculate:

  • They reported 13,100 renewals and 1,886 new additions, or 14,986 total for 2015 through 12/21. They also reported a total of 18,774 cumulative QHPs as of 12/21, so it sounds like 3,787 dropped out at some point. Therefore, the actual current total appears to be 15,686.
  • Medicaid: Again, they had 31,175 enrolled as of 10/07, so that's a further increase of 7,962
  • SHOP: They had 14,486 as of 10/07, so they've added 1,084 since that time.

UPDATE: OK, according to Inside Health Policy editor Rachel Karas...

@charles_gaba @DCHealthLink just talked to [DC Health Link Executive Director Mila] Kofman and she said she's not sure where you're getting the 3,787 but that her #s are accurate.

— Rachel S. Karas (@rachelkaras) January 22, 2015

@charles_gaba She did say some have dropped because of coverage changes like getting/losing job-provided insurance, but didn't know exact #

— Rachel S. Karas (@rachelkaras) January 22, 2015

@charles_gaba also includes both effectuated/non-effectuated in those numbers.

— Rachel S. Karas (@rachelkaras) January 22, 2015

Hmmm...OK, well, it sounds like I'm wrong about lopping off the 3,787 QHPs, which is fine with me, but DC Health Link using that "Cumulative since 10/1/13" wording makes this confusing as hell.

Still, it sounds like 19,473 is the figure I should be using after all; so be it.

ARRGH..ok, actually, the numbers are a bit higher:

Mila Kofman says @DCHealthLink enrolled 75K+ people from 10/1/13 to 1/19/15. 19,837 QHPs, 40,009 Medicaid, 15,619 small biz. #ACASignups

— Rachel S. Karas (@rachelkaras) January 22, 2015

That's another 364 QHPs in 8 days, 872 in Medicaid, 49 SHOP since the 11th.

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