August 2024 - The ConnectorCare pilot expansion in Massachusetts has provided over 51,000 residents with access to more affordable health insurance, thanks to increased income eligibility limits from 300 percent to 500 percent of the federal poverty level. This initiative, part of the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget, has resulted in significant cost savings for members, with some saving over $150 monthly on premiums.
June 2022—Building on the Commonwealth’s state health reform efforts and Affordable Care Act’s success, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) has been instrumental in providing premium relief to state residents, driving 253,000 individuals to enroll with the Health Connector during Open Enrollment (OE) for 2022 coverage. Massachusetts’s bedrock of affordability meant the state had a higher coverage rate than other states as the pandemic began and has largely maintained it over the last two years.
June 2022—In 2021, the passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and its significant advancement of affordable health care induced the Health Connector to extend its Open Enrollment (OE) period. Typically, OE is from November 1 through January 23, but in 2021 was extended until July 23 to allow uninsured residents ample opportunity to access ARP-enhanced subsidies, including more robust Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTCs) and special benefits for members reporting unemployment income. The Health Connector enrolled 87,000 new members in Exchange coverage over the course of the 2021 OE period.
August 2021 —Through affordable premiums and cost sharing, the Health Connector’s ConnectorCare program promotes access to care and reduced cost burdens for approximately 193,000 low-to-moderate income Massachusetts residents. As the state Marketplace’s flagship health insurance subsidy program, ConnectorCare offers the Commonwealth’s families comprehensive and high-quality health plan options with affordable premiums and point of care cost sharing.
September 2021 —A summary of information reported to the Health Connector by health arrangements provided by an established religious organization seeking minimum creditable coverage status for 2020 and 2021.
August 2021 —Through affordable premiums and cost sharing, the Health Connector’s ConnectorCare program promotes access to care and reduced cost burdens for approximately 193,000 low-to-moderate income Massachusetts residents. As the state Marketplace’s flagship health insurance subsidy program, ConnectorCare offers the Commonwealth’s families comprehensive and high-quality health plan options with affordable premiums and point of care cost sharing.
January 2021 —In 2019, less than 3 percent of Massachusetts residents, or roughly 200,000 people, lacked health insurance coverage. The Commonwealth’s highest-in-the-nation rate of coverage can be attributed to innovative state and federal reforms. While together these reforms expanded coverage to nearly half a million Massachusetts residents, in recent years the state’s insured rate has flattened, despite year-round outreach, an enduring state level individual mandate, and state subsidized ConnectorCare plans.
September 1, 2020—This brief is designed to provide final data and analysis on supports for state residents to access and maintain their coverage through the duration of the national COVID-19 crisis. The Health Connector established a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for Massachusetts residents without health insurance coverage or those with coverage that may have become unaffordable.
May 1, 2020—This brief is designed to provide data and analysis (to-date) on supports for state residents to access and maintain their coverage through the duration of the national COVID-19 crisis. The Health Connector’s existing programs paired with new policy strategies aim to expand coverage to the remaining and newly uninsured (particularly those who may be losing job-based health coverage) and protect coverage for current members.
January 2019—This brief is designed to provide data and analysis relative to the breadth of choices offered since the Health Connector’s inception to members purchasing outside the curated plan sets of Commonwealth Care or ConnectorCare. Although subsidized plans represent a larger share of the Health Connector’s membership, there are a limited number of standardized plans serving those members. Through examination of the way in which consumers select a single plan from the dozens available, the Health Connector will continue to refine its approach to plan offerings as well as tailoring decision support tools.
