Prince George’s County officials are projecting an estimated 30 percent drop in the number of uninsured residents and modest increases in new enrollees as the third enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act comes to a close.
“It’s having a significant impact,” Curtis said. “Medicaid expansion and the ACA has been great and we are beginning to see an uptick in primary care use and improvements in health status.”
It is difficult to obtain accurate numbers on the remaining uninsured, county officials said. People move in and out frequently in the county and each tracking entity calculates their numbers based on different criteria or estimates.
Curtis said their numbers have an error margin of plus or minus 6,500 people and include the thousands of residents who are ineligible to purchase coverage through the exchange for reasons such as immigration status. They can obtain insurance privately.
“There is so much fluctuation, but there is about three to four percent of the population that would not be eligible for the exchange,” Curtis said. “So we say that less than 10 percent of county residents remain uninsured.”
After the troubled launch of the Maryland state exchange in 2013, signups have picked up. A large portion of these newly insured — since Obamacare was enacted and carried out — are county residents who signed up in 2014 and will be passively re-enrolled in 2016.
In the latest enrollment period, which began Nov. 1, there have been 7,000 new private insurance enrollees in Prince George’s County and 14,000 in neighboring Montgomery, said Andrew Ratner, a spokesman for the Maryland marketplace.
With more insured people, health officials said it’s important they help identify primary care providers in their neighborhoods. But doctors are in short supply in Prince George’s — particularly in poorer communities — according to a 2009 study by the nonprofit research group, the RAND Corporation.
Emergency room usage is higher in the county than other jurisdictions and beyond the hospital, there are limited options for patients suffering from ailments such as obesity, diabetes, asthma and other chronic conditions, the report found.
Getting people insured and connected to a healthcare network is a major policy concern for Prince George’s political leaders, all of whom are Democrats. They have been lobbying for years to build a regional hospital they hope will anchor the development of a healthcare hub in Largo, attracting doctors and providers to the center of the c unty.
Officials with County Executive Rushern L. Baker III’s office said state health officials are still reviewing their application and plans for the facility. The project has not been approved for construction.
But signing up for health insurance in Prince George’s is not without its challenges. Although officials reported no major crisis, the deadline for enrollees who want coverage starting Jan. 1 was Tuesday. Across the county, navigators spent Tuesday morning in a training session, which angered a few people waiting for help before the deadline.
Curtis said the training was cut short but was necessary to address recurring technical difficulties they were facing with the application process.
The navigators arrived back about midday to find lines and increased volume at the county’s 11 service sites. Everyone was seen by 4 p.m., Curtis said.
Although the department is focused on weaning people off guided help toward self-enrollment, there are still scores of residents encountering obstacles with the website or in need of instruction.
Budget cuts at the state and federal level have also forced the county health department to adjust to fit demands. Curtis said, however, they were able to open a new storefront location this month at The Boulevard shopping center near Arena Drive. It will be open Tuesday through Saturday to help alleviate the burden on government offices.
Countywide, there are 28 trained healthcare exchange navigators that work full and part-time to walk customers through finding a plan, Curtis said: “Overall it has been a positive experience.”
