Massachusetts: Open Enrollment starts with new ConnectorCare eligibility delivering more affordable coverage to more residents!

via the Massachusetts Health Connector:

• The deadline for coverage beginning January 1 is December 23, 2023, but residents have until January 23 to apply for 2024 coverage

BOSTON, November 1, 2023 – Open Enrollment for 2024 health plans through the Massachusetts Health Connector starts today, with expanded access for tens of thousands of newly-eligible Massachusetts residents to the landmark ConnectorCare program that already helps 156,000 people access more affordable coverage.

Open Enrollment is when anyone who needs health insurance can find coverage through the Health Connector, the Commonwealth’s official health insurance Marketplace. Open Enrollment runs through Jan. 23, but the deadline to start the New Year with coverage is Dec. 23. People who need health insurance can go to MAhealthconnector.org to apply and enroll in coverage. They can also find community-based support in dozens of languages to assist with completing an application.

ConnectorCare plans save participants thousands of dollars in annual health care costs. For the first time, all Marketplace commercial carriers will participate in the program, which features subsidized monthly premiums, low co-pays, and no deductible payments. The two-year pilot expansion of ConnectorCare was part of the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget and increases income eligibility limits from 300 to 500 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) – $72,900 for an individual and $150,000 for a family of four.

“No matter the reason – whether someone has lost MassHealth coverage, is new to Massachusetts, or recently lost coverage from an employer – there is no better time to find coverage through the Health Connector,” said Audrey Morse Gasteier, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Health Connector. “Raising the income eligibility for ConnectorCare creates the largest expansion in health care affordability since the Health Connector was created in 2006, and will save thousands of dollars a year on the cost of health care while delivering important benefits to members.”

The eligibility expansion will provide new cost savings to more than 50,000 people, on top of the 156,000 residents currently in the program. This includes current Health Connector members who earn between 300 and 500 percent of the FPL, as well as people who are transitioning from MassHealth, have applied for Health Connector plans in the past and did not qualify for subsidy, or will be new applicants that sign up for coverage during this Open Enrollment period.

Along with extending income eligibility, all carriers who participate in the Marketplace will offer plans in ConnectorCare. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and UnitedHealthcare join current participating carriers Fallon Health, Health New England, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, Tufts Health Plan, and WellSense Health Plan.

About the Massachusetts Health Connector The Massachusetts Health Connector is the Commonwealth’s health insurance Marketplace, and currently serves nearly 300,000 individuals and small-employer members with health and dental insurance. Massachusetts residents who do not have health insurance from an employer or other entity can use the Marketplace to enroll in coverage. Through the ConnectorCare program, income-qualifying residents can access coverage that includes low-cost premiums and co-pays, and no deductibles.