Open Enrollment has started for healthcare through NY State of Health

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ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State has started its 2023 open enrollment in its low-cost healthcare programs. Qualifying residents can enroll for insurance programs through NY State of Health until January 31.

For more information, you can NY State of Health at 1-855-355-5777 or visit the website.

One option is applying for a Qualified Health Plan, private health plans offered through the NY State of Health. Residents who enroll between November 16, 2022 and December 15, 2022 will have coverage starting January 1, 2023. You can learn more about applying here.

All 12 insurers that offered Qualified Health Plans last year will offer them again this year. These insurers are:

  • Capital District Physicians Health Plan
  • Empire Blue Cross HealthPlus and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus
  • Excellus (Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield in Central NY and Univera in Western NY)
  • Fidelis Care
  • Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York (EmblemHealth)
  • Healthfirst
  • Highmark (Highmark of Northeastern NY and Highmark of Western NY)
  • Independent Health
  • MetroPlus Health Plan
  • MVP Health Care
  • Oscar Insurance Corporation
  • United Healthcare of New York, Inc.

Another option is The Essential Plan, which covers comprehensive benefits, including vision and dental benefits for all enrollees with no monthly premium, no deductible, and low-cost sharing. You can learn more about applying here.

The 12 insurers offering the Essential Plan in 2022 are:

  • Capital District Physicians Health Plan
  • Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus
  • Excellus (Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield in Central NY and Univera in Western NY
  • Fidelis Care
  • Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York (EmblemHealth)
  • Healthfirst
  • Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of Western NY
  • Independent Health
  • MetroPlus Health Plan
  • Molina Healthcare
  • MVP Health Care
  • United Healthcare of New York, Inc.

Residents may also qualify for the Small Business Marketplace. Eligible small employers can lower the cost of offering employee coverage. That’s through the federal small employer tax credit when purchasing Small Business Marketplace-certified plans offered through NY State of Health. There are currently more than 17,500 employers signed on with the Small Business Marketplace, the highest level since its inception in 2013. You can apply here.

There are seven insurers offering plans on the Small Business Marketplace in 2023:

  • Capital District Physicians Health Plan
  • Empire (Empire Blue Cross and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield)
  • Excellus (Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield in Central NY and Univera in Western NY)*
  • Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York (EmblemHealth)*
  • MVP Health Care*
  • Oscar Insurance Corporation
  • United Healthcare (Oxford)

NY State of Health will offer the following six stand-alone dental plans on the individual Marketplace. You can learn more here.

  • Delta Dental
  • Empire HealthChoice Dental BlueCross and Empire Health Choice Dental Blue Cross BlueShield
  • Excellus Dental and Excellus Univera Dental
  • Guardian
  • Healthplex
  • Solstice

Here are some resources through the state’s website to see what plan is right for you.

The state says that one in three New Yorkers is enrolled in a NY State of Health program.

“NY State of Health continues to be a critical resource throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency, providing over 6.7 million New Yorkers with comprehensive, affordable coverage,” said NY State of Health Executive Director Danielle Holahan. “We will continue to automatically extend consumers’ public program coverage for the duration of the federal emergency, but Qualified Health Plan coverage must be renewed for 2023.