Note: All xpostfactoid subscriptions are now through Substack alone (still free), though I will continue to cross-post on this site. If you're not subscribed, please visit xpostfactoid on Substack and sign up!
 |
| A rickety but serviceable connector |
In a two-year pilot program beginning in 2024, Massachusetts has extended eligibility for ConnectorCare, the state’s alternative to a standard ACA marketplace that features standardized plans with low out-of-pocket costs, to applicants with incomes up to 500% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), or $72,900 for an individual in 2024. Since the ACA marketplace’s 2014 inception, ConnectorCare has been the (only) option for applicants with income ranging from 138% FPL, the Medicaid eligibility threshold, to 300% FPL. The extension means that almost all subsidy-eligible marketplace enrollees will get a standardized ConnectorCare plan, at least through 2025.
All insurers who offer plans in Massachusetts’ regular ACA exchange (available through this year to enrollees with income over 300% FPL) will be required for the first time to offer ConnectorCare plans in 2024. Importantly, since ConnectorCare plans are in a single risk pool with the insurer’s offerings in the higher income marketplace, extending eligibility to 500% FPL should not cannibalize the Health Connector market plans offered to enrollees with income above that threshold. That is, the extension should not drive up premiums for those who get no subsidy or minimal subsidy.
The Massachusetts legislature included such an extension in its budget passed in August 2022, but Republican Governor Charlie Baker vetoed it. Last month, Democratic Governor Maura Healy, inaugurated this past January, signed the eligibility extension into law.
