Up to 15 million people, including 6 million kids, are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage once the public health emergency ends. State and federal officials are scrambling to prepare.
Independent experts say HealthCare.gov's sign-up season doesn't seem to be drawing as many new customers this year — 8% to 9% fewer than last year — but it's too early to draw final conclusions because deadlines drive much of the enrollment.
The U.S. government will require private health insurance companies to reimburse customers for the cost of over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests under new measures to combat the pandemic that President Joe Biden will unveil on Thursday, administration officials said.
Open enrollment began on November 1, 2021. Already, more than 1.6 million people in 33 states have newly enrolled or renewed their coverage on the marketplace, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Seniors on Medicare will have to pay more than $20 more per month extra in premiums next year, a large increase that officials in part attributed to possible coverage of a pricey and controversial new Alzheimer's drug. The Biden administration announced Friday that the monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers services like doctors office visits, will increase by $21.60, from $148.50 in 2021 to $170.10 in 2022.