This week marks the 12th anniversary of the historic Affordable Care Act that changed access to health care for hardworking families. Under our administration, New Jersey has built the ACA’s significant impact by providing quality, affordable health insurance to more New Jersey residents than ever before.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest health crisis in over 100 years, we launched Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace. The creation of the New Jersey health insurance market was founded on the belief that health care is a right, not a privilege.
New Jersey established the market at a time when the Affordable Care Act was under attack from the former federal government. This has resulted in shorter enrollment periods and less funding for outreach, enrollment assistance and advertising aimed at raising awareness of available health insurance options. Creating our own health insurance marketplace gave New Jersey residents more flexibility and control.
New Jersey is tackling this challenge head-on. This winter, more than 324,000 New Jersey residents enrolled in health insurance during his 2022 open enrollment period, marking a record number of participants this year. And many of these are consumers purchasing insurance through the marketplace for the first time.
The success of open enrollment this year is made possible by both the U.S. Relief Plans Act and our own state grant called New Jersey Health Plan Savings, which we implemented to make health insurance more affordable and accessible. supported by a significant increase in financial support. .
This year, 9 out of 10 registrants are eligible for financial assistance, and the majority pay less than $10 a month for health insurance. Newly expanded financial assistance has made health insurance available to her 104,160 residents in New Jersey for a premium of $10 or less per month. By comparison, this is more than triple what he is in 2021.
When we launched Get Covered New Jersey, the COVID-19 pandemic was weighing on New Jersey and the country. It is now clear that the market is serving an important purpose and meeting its intended goal of providing consumers with the quality and affordable health insurance they deserve.
The standard open registration period has ended, but our efforts to cover more residents have not.
New Jersey residents who have experienced a qualifying life event such as pregnancy, marriage, loss of health insurance, moving house, birth or adoption of a child may apply for health insurance outside of the standard coverage period. Already allowed.
Last month, for the first time, eligible residents (individuals with incomes of up to $25,760 or $53,000 for a family of four) can continue to enroll in free or low-cost health insurance plans through Get Covered, a new expanded access initiative. did. New Jersey all year round.
The new Extended Access Special Registration Period represents our administration’s commitment to advancing health equity and affordability. If you do not have health insurance and are eligible for this special coverage period, we encourage you to learn more about the plans available.
Plans offered through Get Covered New Jersey include benefits such as preventive services, prenatal and pediatric care, emergency services, prescription drug coverage, and no denial of coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions .
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of access to healthcare. Through our executive decisions and investments, and working with Congress, New Jersey has made great strides in improving affordability and access to healthcare.
We are proud of the work we have accomplished to build on the ACA’s monumental success by increasing access to coverage and care in our state. I would like to go deeper.
Phil Murphy is Governor of New Jersey.
Marlene Caride is the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.
Get Covered New Jersey is operated by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. For more information about Get Covered New Jersey, visit GetCovered.NJ.gov.