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Need health care for 2025? It’s the last day to apply for coverage with Mass Health Connector
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
If you’re not taking the T this week, you’re missing out on the first week of travel without slow zones across the entire system!
Now, let’s get to the news:
Heads up: Today is the last day for Massachusetts residents to sign up for health insurance through the state’s Obamacare exchange — aka the Health Connector — if they want coverage to start in January. “Most people who sign up for health coverage to the Health Connector get help paying for it,” Audrey Morse Gasteier, the executive director of the exchange, told WBUR’s John Bender. “So they’ll have a lower premium and lower cost sharing than they would if they were just buying health insurance coverage on their own.”
- By the numbers: Massachusetts officials say a record number of people — 350,000 — are now signed up through the exchange this year. Gasteier says that’s due to a variety of factors, primarily a post-pandemic assessment of residents’ eligibility for the state Medicaid program, MassHealth. They’re also enrolling new residents and existing residents who heard about their expanded low-cost options.
- FYI: The Health Connector’s “ConnectorCare” program offers plans with no deductibles, and little-to-no premiums and copays. Last year, the state expanded its eligibility limits from 300% of the poverty level to 500%, meaning individuals making up to $73,000 a year and families of four making up to $150,000 can sign up.
- Need help? Signing up for health insurance can be an intimidating process. But the state has a team of “navigators” to help first-timers. “ These are folks all across Massachusetts who are trained to walk people through the application process,” Gasteier said. “They speak over 30 languages. And people can find a navigator in their community by going to our website.”
Shrimply the best: In the early 2010s, fishermen hauled in more than 10 million pounds of New England shrimp per year. But the Gulf of Maine warmed with climate change, leading to a fishing moratorium for the species. Now, that long-lost little pink shrimp is about to make its debut back in the marketplace, when the New England shrimp fishery opens this winter for the first time in 10 years for a limited harvest.
- Why? The moratorium is still active, but the short-run effort is part of an industry-funded research program to better understand the current status of the region’s shrimp population. Fishermen will be able to bring in 58,400 pounds of shrimp, some of which might even end up at the seafood counter. “The loss of shrimp is really something that has been felt by so many in our communities who just love, love, love those tiny little morsels,” said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.
Changes coming to social security: This past weekend, Congress passed the Social Security Fairness Act, a measure that would repeal 1983 provisions that limit benefits for social security recipients. That’s good news for 130,000 retired public servants in Massachusetts, who will now be eligible or get a boost to their monthly payments.
- Who’s eligible: Public employees like teachers, police and firefighters who worked at least 10 years in jobs that required payments into social security without the ability to receive those benefits due to pension plans.
- What they’re saying: Opponents worry the change will add costs to the social security program, which already faces insolvency. It also adds more stress on the understaffed Social Security office.
PSA: Health officials in Massachusetts are urging residents to get vaccinated against whooping cough ahead of the holiday season. There have been more than 800 reported cases of the respiratory illness in the state this year, compared to only 14 cases throughout 2023, according to CDC data.
- Whooping cough is a bacterial disease characterized by a severe cough with a distinct “whoop” sound, and it can be exceptionally dangerous for the very young or elderly. “It’s OK to wear a mask if you’re having symptoms,” Dr. Damian Archer, CEO of Outer Cape Health Services, told WBUR. But if you’re visiting those who might be more susceptible to illness, particularly babies, Archer suggests reconsidering your plans to avoid the spread of illness.
P.S.— While Radio Boston may no longer be in the 11 a.m. time slot, the Radio Boston team’s work is not ending. Here’s what to know about the new broadcast lineup and what the team will be up to next.
