By Rachel Schwab, Justin Giovannelli and Kevin Lucia

As the coronavirus pandemic and economic shutdown continue, the health insurance safety net is being stretched to accommodate the rapid increase in people in need of coverage. Along with Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance marketplaces are an important tool in covering the uninsured, providing a source of quality health plans and financial assistance. During the COVID-19 crisis, states that run their own ACA marketplaces have more opportunities to help consumers than states relying on the federally facilitated marketplace, and state-based marketplaces (SBM) are taking up that mantle.

In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR experts Rachel Schwab, Justin Giovannelli and Kevin Lucia explore how SBMs have worked to enroll the uninsured during the COVID-19 crisis by creating new opportunities to sign up for coverage and launching outreach campaigns. The authors find that these efforts are paying off, with SBMs reporting enrollment gains, including signups from consumers who are more likely to be uninsured. You can read the full piece here.