Arizona Health Insurance

Health insurance in Arizona

● Arizona residents HealthCare.gov to sign up for exchange plans

● Open enrollment for 2021 health insurance plans ended on 12, 15, 2020. Outside of open enrollment, people and families with eligible events can sign up or make changes to their coverage.

● Short-term health insurance can be sold in Arizona on terms of up to 364 days and total duration, including renewals, up to three years. This is a rule change that is in effect in August 2019 in the state, under a new state law.

● Five insurers offer health insurance plans in Arizona's health insurance market.

● Arizona's uninsured rate has fallen 38% since 2013, but is still above the national average.

● Overall enrollment in Arizona's health insurance market fell to 153,000 in 2020, down about 25% from its peak enrollment in 2016.

● Arizona expanded Medicaid, but won federal approval for a Medicaid work requirement. The state has delayed the implementation of the work requirement, however, amid ongoing legal challenges across the country and the COVID pandemic.

● More than 1.3 million Arizona State residents are enrolled in Medicare coverage.

● The Arizona congressional delegation leans slightly in favor of the ACA.

This page is committed to help consumers with discovering medical coverage resources in the territory of Arizona. Here you will find information about the many types of health insurance coverage available. You can find the basics of Arizona's health insurance market and the next open enrollment period; a brief overview of Medicaid expansion in Arizona; a quick look at the availability of short-term health insurance in the state; details of state-specific Medicare rules; as well as a collection of Arizona health insurance resources for residents.

Arizona's health insurance market

Arizona uses the federally managed (exchange) market, which means individuals and families enroll in health plans through HealthCare.gov. The exchange is used by people who need to buy their own health insurance, including people who are self-employed, people who work for a small business that does not provide health benefits, and people who have retired before the age of 65 and need to purchase their own health coverage until they become eligible for Medicare.

Arizona made headlines in the fall of 2016, due to the number of insurers that left the exchange and significant rate increases for 2017. But for 2018, Arizona had some of the smallest rate hikes in the country, with rates virtually unchanged from 2017.

For 2020, Arizona's stock market stake jumped to five insurers, compared to just two in 2018. For 2021, the five insurers proposed average rate changes ranging from a 7% decrease to a 9% increase.

Open enrollment period and dates in Arizona

Arizona uses the federally facilitated exchange, so residents sign up through HealthCare.gov. Open enrollment for 2021 health insurance plans ran from November 1 to December 15, 2020.

This window is an opportunity for individuals and families to enroll in health coverage or renew or modify an existing policy. It's also an opportunity for people with no-trade plans to shop on the exchange to see if a better option might be available. The exchange is the only place where premium subsidies are available, and by 2021, a family of four can have an income of up to $104,800 and still benefit from premium subsidies.

Outside of open enrollment, a qualifying event is required to enroll in a major medical plan of the individual market, either through the exchange or directly through an insurer (the insurer will require proof of the qualifying event if an application is submitted outside the open registration window).

Enrollment in Arizona health insurance plans on the Arizona stock exchange has decreased by 25% since 2016

During the 2016 open enrollment, 203,066 people enrolled in private health plans through Arizona's health insurance market. Since then, enrollment has declined each year, and only 153,020 people have enrolled in medical insurance through the Arizona exchange during the open enrollment period for 2020 coverage. This is a reduction of almost 25% in enrolments in four years.

Take a deeper dive into Arizona's health insurance market.

Medicaid expansion in Arizona

Arizona Medicaid coverage is called AHCCCS, for Arizona's health care cost containment system.

Former Governor Brewer took a different course than most Republican governors and pushed hard for Medicaid expansion in Arizona. A bill approving development was passed with some Republican help and endorsed into law by Brewer in 2013.

However, the expansion has been repeatedly questioned. The Arizona Legislature in February 2015 approved SB1092, which requires the state to request an annual waiver from the CMS to allow additional eligibility restrictions for Arizona's Medicaid program - AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System , which is pronounced "access"). Governor Ducey signed the bill in March 2015.

In September 2016, the Obama administration's CMS approved Arizona's waiver proposal, but eliminated its more conservative aspects. The new waiver runs until September 2021. This terms require modest health Bank account contributions from Medicaid plan enrollees with income above poverty level and enrollment in an optional (rather than mandatory) job search program.

Under the Obama administration, CMS did not allow Arizona to implement a work requirement, limit AHCCCS coverage for able-to-be adults to five years, or charge premiums for enrollees in Arizona Medicaid plans with incomes below the poverty level. The state also cannot block people from the AHCCCS for six months if they lose a health savings account contribution or charge fees for missed health appointments. In short, CMS has denied various state offers to increase costs for subscribers.

However, the Trump Administration is much more open to the kind of proposals Arizona has made in previous years, and a new waiver to Arizona Medicaid received partial APPROVAL of the CMS in early 2019. The new waiver allows the state to impose a Medicaid work requirement (which the state has postponed indefinitely), but CMS did not approve the state's proposal to limit total Medicaid coverage for able enrollees to five years.

Arizona saw a 45% increase in Medicaid/CHIP monthly enrollment from 2013 to November 2016. But enrollment was stabilized by 2016 (as has been the case in most states) and net enrollment was 43% at the end of 2019. But as of May 2020, the total number of people covered by Medicaid/CHIP in Arizona was 51%

than in 2013. The coronavirus pandemic has led Medicaid enrollment higher across the nation, including in Arizona, and highlighted the importance of a health safety net for situations where people suddenly lose their employer-sponsored jobs, incomes, and health benefits.

Short-term health insurance in Arizona

Arizona State changed its rules for short-term health insurance in Arizona in 2019, allowing plans to follow federal rules instead of the stricter rules the state had previously imposed. So short-term plans in Arizona can have initial terms of up to 364 days and a total duration, including renewals, of up to three years.

Short-term medical plans are not considered minimal essential coverage, and insurers' business model tends to be very different from that of ACA-compliant health insurers. Short-term plans must not provide coverage for essential health benefits, must not cover pre-existing conditions and are underwritten from the medical point of view.

How did Obamacare help Arizona?

Arizona State participates in the federally subsidized market (HealthCare.gov) and has expanded its Medicaid program under the ACA.

According to U.S. Census data, 17.1% of Arizona residents were un insured in 2013, and this had fallen to 10.1% by 2017, although it returned to 10.6% by 2018. Nationally, there has been a gradual increase in the uninsured rate under the Trump Administration. While Arizona's uninsured rate has improved with Obamacare in fact, it's still above the national average (8.9% in 2018).

As of December 2020, there are more than 142,000 people covered by private health plans through the Arizona exchange. All these people have coverage for the essential health benefits of the ACA, with no life limits or annual the benefits. And 81% of those enrolled in the exchange also have premium subsidies that make their monthly health insurance premiums much cheaper than they would otherwise be.

Arizona lawmakers and the Affordable Care Act

The Arizona Senate delegation includes Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat, and Martha McSally, a Republican. Sinema believes Obamacare should stay in place, but be fixed where necessary, while McSally has worked to repeal the ACA. Sinema and McSally were both in the House in 2017 when Republican lawmakers tried to repeal the ACA under the American Health Care Act. McSally voted in favor of the law, while Sinema voted against it.

In the 2010 election, Arizona voters passed a state constitutional amendment that excludes any state rules or regulations that would force state residents to participate in a health care system. Federal law replaces state law, so the ACA's individual mandate still applies nominally in Arizona, although the penalty for non-compliance has been lifted since 2019.

Despite opposing the ACA in general, former Governor Jan Brewer was in favor of a state-run health insurance exchange and said it was preferable to a single model imposed by the federal government. To this end, Brewer founded the Office of Health Insurance Exchange, and the state took numerous steps toward establishing a state-run exchange. However, with state legislators and the public majority remaining opposed. Brewer eventually bowed to public sentiment and defaulted on the federally subsidized market.

that Ducey, a Republican, took over the governor's office in January 2015 and won re-election in 2018. During his campaign, he described himself as "100% opposed to Obamacare." A few months after taking office, he signed House Bill 2643 into law, eventually prohibiting the state from creating a state-run exchange. So Arizona, like most states, continues to HealthCare.gov.

Brewer was one of several Republican governors who supported Medicaid expansion despite opposing the ACA in general. In the end, Arizona opted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and Medicaid enrollment in Arizona is 51% higher than in 2013.

Medicare coverage & enrollment in the state of Arizona

As of August 2020, nearly 1.36 million Arizonans State were enrolled in Medicare coverage. Most are eligible because of age (at least 65), but 13% of people with Medicare coverage in Arizona are under 65 and are eligible for Medicare due to a disability.

You can read more about Medicare in Arizona, including details about optional Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription plans, as well as state rules for Medigap (Medicare Supplement) plans.

Arizona Health Insurance Resources

● Arizona Department of Insurance — Regulates and licenses health insurance companies, agents, and brokers; provides information to consumers on a wide range of insurance problem.

●Arizona Health Problems

● AACHC (Arizona Association of Community Health Centers) /Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers - Community Health Centers that also serve as Arizona's federally funded Navigator organization, helping individuals and families enroll in health coverage through exchange.

● Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System - Medicaid in Arizona State. It provides health coverage to various low-income populations.

● MRC (Medicare Rights Center) - A nationwide service (website and call center) that provides information and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers.

● Arizona State Health Insurance Assistance Program - A local service that can provide a variety of counseling, counseling, and assistance with Medicare issues.

Arizona Health Reform Legislation

Here's what happened recently in terms of state-level health reform legislation in Arizona:

● Ducey signed HB2643 into law in April 2015. The legislation actually the state from creating a state-run exchange.

● Also 2015, SB1092 was signed into law, requiring the territory to continue asking CMS to approve Medicaid qualify changes, including a work requirement and a five-year lifetime coverage limit. The Obama administration rejected most of the major changes the state wanted to make, but a new waiver proposal, filed in late 2017, won partial approval from the Trump administration.