This time last year Maryland health exchange leaders were wringing their hands about how to fix their complete flop of a website and sweating bullets as state legislators grilled them at hearings about what had gone wrong.
After the Maryland Health Connection ended its open enrollment season last year, exchange leaders spent the next seven months scrambling to replace its online marketplace with technology and code from Connecticut in time for the 2015 enrollment season’s Nov. 15 launch.
But after a complete turnaround for Maryland Health Connection this year — more than twice as many people bought private health plans this time around — state health leaders can instead focus on fine-tuning the system rather than overhauling it.
Here’s what they’ll be up to between now and this fall when the exchange opens for its 2016 enrollment period:
- Taking a closer look at the number of plans sold through the exchange. Executive Director Carolyn Quattrocki has said she wants to make sure the exchange is striking the right balance between the numbers of people and plans. Too many options could be overwhelming for shoppers, while too few options could mean people are unable to find a plan that’s the right fit. Shoppers had more than 50 plans to choose from this year.
- Figuring out how many of the 264,000 people who bought private insurance or enrolled in Medicaid were previously uninsured— and how to reach people who still have not signed up. The main goal of the exchange is to reduce the number of people who are uninsured. The exchange had a great turnout this year, but it’s possible many of the people who bought insurance this year were simply renewing plans or were looking for a change from a different insurance plan. At the top of the exchange’s offseason to-do list is figuring out how many people are still uninsured. Next, exchange leaders need to figure out why, after two years of pushing the exchange, those uninsured residents have not signed up. Future marketing and outreach efforts will need to target this group of people.
- Making peace with former contractor Noridian Healthcare Solutions. No one wants to talk details, but in a call with reporters last Wednesday, Quattrocki and U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer said the state is still looking at legal options for recouping some of the money it paid Noridian to build the original Maryland Health Connection website. “There’s no doubt to the extent that the contractor was responsible for the breakdown, clearly, I think there’s the expectation from the citizens, myself and my colleagues that they will be held accountable,” Hoyer, a Democrat, said.
- Sleeping in a little (we hope).
Date: February 23, 2015