APRIL 2021

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AARP Public Policy Institute

Who Might be Helped by the ACA Special Enrollment Period in ?

In Hawaii, as many as 26,000 older adults ages 50 to 64 could potentially be helped by the new Special Enrollment Period and expanded premium tax credits.

• This number includes the 12,854 (or 4.9% of) older adults in Hawaii who are uninsured and could be eligible for coverage through sources like the Marketplace or . • This number also includes the 13,348 (or 5.3% of) older adults in Hawaii who are already enrolled in the nongroup (individual) health insurance market and may qualify for new or bigger tax credits that will help lower their premiums. Many people could now pay as little as $0 for their premiums, while others could save up to thousands of dollars a year.

The new Special Enrollment Period with expanded premium tax credit subsidies is an important opportunity to help reduce racial and ethnic coverage disparities. While the (ACA) significantly reduced uninsured rates for all adults ages 50 to 64, significant gaps in Hawaii remain.

• 6.8% of Hispanic/Latino adults ages 50-64 in Hawaii are uninsured • 3.4% of Asian adults ages 50-64 in Hawaii are uninsured • 11.3% of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander adults ages 50-64 in Hawaii are uninsured • 5.3% of White adults ages 50-64 in Hawaii are uninsured

Note: All data from 2019. Uninsured numbers likely increased in 2020 due to pandemic-related job loss. Uninsured data not reported for other racial/ethnic categories due to insufficient sample size.

Sources: KNG Health Reform Model and AARP Public Policy Institute analysis of ACS and other publicly available data.