By the numbers

On Monday, Dec. 23, The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, the state agency that operates Nevada’s online health insurance marketplace, nevadahealthlink.com, released enrollment numbers for its seventh open enrollment period, which ended on Dec. 15 but included an extension for consumers who’d started enrollment before the deadline.

According to a press release sent by the agency, 77,410 Nevadans enrolled for Plan Year 2020. The release referred to these numbers as “promising” and demonstrative of “the continued need for Nevada’s State Based Exchange services. This was the first enrollment period for which Nevada’s exchange did not rely on the federal enrollment platform, healthcare.gov. Executive Director Heather Korbulic said transitioning off of the federal platform will not only save money, but will also allow for greater information about about enrollment data and the needs of exchange enrollees than was available from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In the press release, Korbulic was quoted as saying “As the first state to transition from healthcare.gov to a fully operational SBE [state-based exchange], Nevada Health Link has direct insight into real-time data which creates a more accurate and clear picture of the enrollment landscape in Nevada. Plan Year 2020 enrollment numbers will become the baseline from which we will work to continue to increase the number of insured Nevadans as we move forward.”

As part of the transitioning to being a state-based exchange, Nevada Health Link migrated a total of 65,563 Nevada consumers from the federal platform. To nevadahealthlink.com. The number of new enrollments into qualified health plans as of Dec. 20 was 20,111. More than 25,000 returning consumers enrolled in a 2020 health plan. The total number of enrollments in qualified dental plans was 15,273. It’s worth noting this enrollment period was the first in which consumers could purchase a dental plan without also buying a health plan.

In addition to the total enrollments completed by Dec. 20, 2019 extension date, the exchange will also be reaching out to to several thousand consumers who were transferred to Nevada Health Link from the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services because they were deemed ineligible for Medicaid benefits. These people have 60 days from the date of their Medicaid denial to apply for insurance on the exchange.

According to the press release, unlike the federal platform, nevadahealthlink.com was not troubled by any blackout periods outside of planned maintenance time and remained online through the 45-day enrollment period.

It’s also worth noting that while open enrollment has ended, certain qualifying life events (QLEs). According to the press release, QLEs “such as losing health insurance, getting married, having a child or moving, can make an individual eligible for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that allows enrollment at any time during the year. An individual or household has 60 days to enroll in coverage of the reported occurrence of the QLE.”

If you need to find out if you’re eligible for a special enrollment period, visit nevadahealthlink.com.