News Briefs: ACA Plan Signups Totaled 21M During 2024 Open Enrollment

More than 21 million people selected or were automatically reenrolled in health plans during the most recent Affordable Care Act open enrollment period (OEP). That’s according to one of four reports issued by HHS on March 22 marking the 10-year anniversary of the ACA. HHS also said that 5.1 million more people signed up for coverage during the 2024 OEP compared to the 2023 OEP, representing a 31% increase. Another report found that over 45 million people now have coverage thanks to the creation of the ACA marketplaces and Medicaid expansion -- “the highest total on record.” 

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) on March 14 began a review of UnitedHealth Group’s proposed acquisition of Amedisys Inc., a home health provider. Amedisys disclosed the OHA’s review in a March 19 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. UnitedHealth made a $3.26 billion unsolicited offer for Amedisys last June, shortly after Amedisys had agreed to merge with Option Care Health, Inc., a home infusion provider. Amedisys’s shareholders approved the UnitedHealth deal in September, but the transaction is subject to regulatory approval. In a preliminary analysis published this month, the OHA wrote “this transaction has the potential to reduce competition in Oregon’s market for home health and hospice services and other health care markets in the state.”