What We’re Reading: Surge in Black, Latino ACA Enrollment; Medicaid Enrollment, Spending Trends; US Hepatitis C Treatment Plan

Increases in Black, Latino Health Insurance Coverage

A new HHS report showed significant jumps in health care insurance enrollment among Black and Latino Americans between 2020 and 2022 during open enrollment periods. In 2022—following improvements in Affordable Care Act Marketplace outreach and education and in American Rescue Plan premium tax credits—enrollment of Black and Latino consumers increased by 49% and 53%, respectively, compared with 2020. The HHS report also noted a 32% increase in enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native consumers, 11% increase of White enrollees, and 6% increase of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander enrollees.

Medicaid Enrollment, Spending Trends in 2022, 2023

A brief by the Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed Medicaid enrollment and spending trends for fiscal year (FY) 2022 and FY 2023. Following a sharp increase in FY 2021, some state Medicaid agencies reported enrollment growth slowed in FY 2022 to 8.4% and is projected to decline by –0.4% in FY 2023. This projection is largely based on the assumption that public health emergency and related maintenance of eligibility requirements will end by mid-FY 2023, and greater declines in enrollment are anticipated in future years. For spending, some agencies expect total—federal and state—Medicaid spending to reach a peak growth rate of 12.5% in FY 2022 and slow to 4.2% in FY 2023. Further, state spending increased by 9.9% in FY 2022 but is projected to increase more sharply by 16.3% in FY 2023 if the fiscal relief expires mid-FY 2023.

Biden Administration Prepares Hepatitis C Treatment Plan

The Biden administration is preparing a national hepatitis C treatment plan that would streamline testing and treatment as well as work with drugmakers to bring down treatment costs, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, Roll Call reported. The plan would include almost all government agencies, including the CDC, FDA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Indian Health Service, and Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Biden administration said it hopes to secure partial funding within 2022 for the initiative, which is not yet formally launched.