Maryland Health Connection sees highest-ever enrollment

Maryland Health Connection, the state’s health insurance exchange, enrolled 166,000 individuals in 2020 — which is an all-time high. Last year the exchange enrolled 158,000.

Ben Steffen, executive director of the Maryland Health Care Commission, shared the news at the commission’s Dec. 17 meeting. Open enrollment closed on Dec. 15.

This is year, the exchange added UnitedHealthcare as a third payer option. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and Kaiser Permanente also offer plans.

“There is now more choice, and that’s a good thing for Maryland consumers,” Steffen said.

UnitedHealthcare’s return to the exchange is part of the payer’s nationwide effort to re-enter profitable and stable state exchanges. The company also offers individual plans in Massachusetts, Nevada and New York. It exited markets in multiple states in 2017, but is now re-entering some states because the ACA exchanges have become more stable and lucrative, according to a MedCity News report.