UNH Today

The Institute for Health Policy and Practice is pleased to release another installment of its “Informing the Conversation – Covering the Care” data and policy brief series. Health Insurance Coverage in New Hampshire | 2019 Update provides updated data on health insurance coverage in New Hampshire and updated policy explanations for shifts and changes in access. The brief highlights demographic details, including a break down of health insurance coverage types by age, county and income level, and highlights the transition from the New Hampshire Health Protection Premium Assistance Program to the Granite Advantage Program. 

READ THE BRIEF

Key findings include:

• The uninsured rate in NH has been consistent in recent years, at just under 6% from 2015 through 2018, down from almost 11% in 2013
• The uninsured rate in the non-elderly adult population dropped from 15% in 2013 to 8% in 2018
• Not all people who are employed, however, have health insurance. Focusing on the employed adult population under 65 (i.e., pre-retirement), 14% were uninsured in 2013. In 2018, 8% of the employed population under 65 were uninsured.
• For the 2018 Open Enrollment period (November – December 2018), 44,581 people selected a Marketplace plan for the 2019 coverage year in NH through healthcare.gov. That compares to 49,573 in 2018 and 53,024 in 2017. Of those enrolling for the 2019 coverage year:
  
  • Over one-third were age 55-64.
  • 53% were women.
  • Enrollees were distributed across the state, in all 10 NH counties.
  • Over half of the enrollees chose silver plans.
• Among the population enrolled in the Marketplace during Open Enrollment in NH in 2018, 73% applied for the Advance Payment of the Premium Tax Credit (APTC), and 39% applied for the Cost Sharing Reductions (CSR). In total, 73% applied for either method of financial assistance for purchasing health insurance on the Marketplace.
• There were approximately 48,629 total enrollees in the Medicaid Expansion in October 2019.
  
  • About one third of the enrollees were 25-34 years old.
  • Enrollees were distributed across the state, in all 10 NH counties.
  • Enrollees were almost equally male and female.