Maryland
recently became the first state in the nation to try to guide uninsured
low-income residents into Medicaid or a subsidized Affordable Care Act (ACA)
exchange plan via their tax returns. The state anticipates launching the
program in January 2020 and will make itself available as a resource for other
states that have "taken an interest in Maryland’s approach and are eager
to see the results," a state official tells AIS Health.
Statewide,
Maryland Health Benefit Exchange estimates 50,000-odd Marylanders "would
be eligible for essentially premium-free coverage," says Betsy Plunkett,
MHBE's director of marketing and web strategies.
"Simply
put, more pathways to coverage is a good thing," says CEO Meg Murray of
the Association for Community Affiliated Plans. "The devil will be in the
operational details; it always is. But it's a novel, promising idea and we look
forward to seeing the results."
In a May
13 Health Affairs blog, Stan Dorn, a senior fellow at Families USA, notes that
national health policy debates are failing to address a basic problem that
continues to loom large: how to enroll the eligible uninsured into available
coverage.
Maryland's
program "represents the country’s first attempt to use income tax filing
as an immediate on-ramp to health coverage," he says.
As Dorn
explains it, uninsured tax filers in Maryland will be able to check a box on
their state income tax return asking the state to determine their eligibility
for free or low-cost insurance. MHBE will determine their eligibility for
Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and premium tax credits.
From Health Plan Weekly
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