Lost Medicaid this year? You can get insurance through Idaho’s subsidized state marketplace

Anyone who has lost access to Medicaid as Idaho removes people from the program this year can now enroll in health insurance policies through Your Health Idaho, the state’s insurance exchange that offers tax credits.

Your Health Idaho announced in a news release Tuesday that it opened a so-called special enrollment period for 90 days for anyone who lost Medicaid as part of the state’s Medicaid unwinding process, which involves removing people ineligible for the program after federal law stopped states from disenrolling people from Medicaid during the pandemic.

The special enrollment period is an extension of special enrollment periods previously offered for people who lost their Medicaid coverage. People were allowed to enroll in plans offered on Your Health Idaho up to 90 days after losing coverage. The new enrollment period lets anyone who lost their Medicaid due to unwinding — which began in April — to enroll in insurance through Your Health Idaho.

The special enrollment period ends Nov. 30. 

“We are excited to be able to offer Idahoans who may still need health insurance the chance to enroll in quality coverage through Your Health Idaho and encourage them to take the steps now to find the plan that best fits their needs,” Your Health Idaho Executive Director Pat Kelly said in a news release.

Idahoans removed from Medicaid can receive coverage from Your Health Idaho

Insurance plans through Your Health Idaho will be open to anyone to sign up for policies effective in 2024 during open enrollment, which lasts from Oct. 15 to Dec. 15. Coverage for those who enroll in the special enrollment period for 2023 will be renewed automatically for 2024, the news release said.

Free assistance from brokers or certified agents is available, which Your Health Idaho recommends. Find brokers online.

Already, 31% of Idahoans removed from Medicaid have received coverage through Your Health Idaho, according to a presentation at the exchange’s board meeting last week. Kelly said Idaho had one of the highest Medicaid to insurance market conversion rates in the country.

More people enrolling in Your Health Idaho who were removed from Medicaid are qualifying for tax credits than the typical Your Health Idaho enrollee, slides from the exchange’s board presentation last week said, with 98% of unwinding enrollments qualifying compared to 89% overall.

Idaho removed about 121,000 people from Medicaid out of 153,000 applications processed, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said in a blog post earlier this month.

“We made attempts to reach every Idahoan on Medicaid by mailing multiple renewal notices, sending text messages, and developing an online portal,” Jeppesen said. “We reached out via social media campaigns, collaborated with community stakeholders, made media appearances, and wrote extensively about the process on our website.”

People disenrolled from Medicaid who are still eligible for Medicaid can re-enroll at any time.