2015 was a significant year for the Affordable Care Act. The federal and state marketplaces concluded a second open enrollment process in January and successfully enrolled 11.7 million people in coverage, including 4.5 million who re-enrolled from 2014. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Burwell in the King v. Burwell case, finding that residents in states that have not established a health insurance exchange can continue to receive tax credits to lower the cost of health insurance purchased through the federally-facilitated marketplace. With that decision made, focus returned to state decisions on Medicaid expansion and fluctuations in state decisions about utilizing HealthCare.gov or implementing (or maintaining) a state-based marketplace. The year closes with the advent of the third open enrollment period, and looming debates on the Cadillac Tax, the Family Glitch , and other ACA implementation issues.

This year was also one of growth for Social Interest Solutions. With the addition of key leadership to the SIS executive team, and through the forging of new partnerships to expand our expertise and reach, SIS remains well poised to inform the policy debate by sharing lessons from our work implementing eligibility and enrollment systems on the ground in states and local communities. As we look to the new year, we anticipate another period of rapid change, culminating with the presidential election next November. In 2016, SIS will continue to pursue challenges related to covering the remaining uninsured, the need to more vigorously pursue horizontal integration efforts, and the need for more comprehensive metrics to monitor and measure the success of federal and state ACA implementation efforts.

SIS Assumes Leadership of MedStart Program

SIS has become the lead organization over MedStart, a program established by the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance to develop a thriving healthcare technology industry in the greater Sacramento area. Read more

Kone Consulting Engages SIS to Support County Agency Business Process Re-engineering

Social Interest Solutions will be partnering with Kone Consulting to provide technical assistance to a county agency in California on a range of information systems, technology, and policy issues. SIS will advise on business process re-engineering efforts related to a backlog of Medicaid renewals, and will provide project planning, technical assessments, customer feedback, and general policy advisement and support.

Findings from SIS Study on State Innovations in Horizontal Integration Shared Nationally

Findings from the horizontal integration study conducted by SIS and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities were the focus of a panel at the Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference in August, and were shared during a national webinar in September that was attended by representatives from 13 states as well as federal agencies, community-based organizations and advocates.

Deanne Wertin Joins SIS Leadership Team

SIS welcomed Chief Operating Officer Deanne Wertin to the organization in October. Deanne is accountable for internal operations and for SIS’s Professional Services organization. She will focus on driving quality and efficiency through a client-centric processes and leadership. Deanne previously held similar roles at MCorp, MAXIMUS, and BearingPoint, working with government and commercial health care organizations to improve the beneficiary experience through modern technology and business solutions.

Health Plan Choice and Cost in 2016  

The latest installment in SIS’s ACA Spotlight series displays year-to-year changes in plan choices and monthly premium costs by comparing available plan data from HealthCare.gov by county for 2015 and 2016. Based on these data, consumers interested in getting the best value may want to consider shopping for new plans instead of letting their current plans automatically renew.

The ACA Family Glitch

This installment of the ACA Spotlight illustrates how a glitch in the ACA rules impacts health insurance affordability for some working families. This glitch is leaving some working families without access to tax credits to subsidize insurance costs.

Social Interest Solutions (SIS) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to leveraging technology innovation to improve consumers’ access to public and private health and social services. As an active influencer and promoter of policy reform, SIS has successfully developed and deployed pioneering technology solutions that have positively impacted the quality of life for the nation’s underserved population.

In early 2003, Social Interest Solutions developed One-e-App, a Web-based system that streamlines the complicated eligibility and enrollment process by making it possible to transparently connect and share data across otherwise disparate federal and state health and social services systems and programs. Today One-e-App is deployed in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana and Maryland and has served over 17 million individuals.

For more information on Social Interest Solutions, click here.