17.5% of Insurance Exchange Enrollees Are From California
About one out of every six individuals who enrolled in health coverage through the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges during the first open enrollment period resides in California, according to a new report from HHS, the Los Angeles Times reports (Levey, Los Angeles Times, 5/1).
California Findings
According to the report, about 1.4 million California residents enrolled in health plans through Covered California, accounting for about 17.5% of all enrollees nationwide.
California also signed up more than 50% of the nearly 2.6 million people who purchased insurance through the state-run exchanges (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 5/1).
The HHS report also found that more 40% of eligible California residents enrolled in health coverage through the exchange (Los Angeles Times, 5/1).
National Findings
A late surge of sign-ups throughout March and April pushed total enrollment in state and federal health insurance exchanges to more than eight million people, the New York Times reports.
According to the Times, the number of individuals who enrolled in plans since March exceeded total enrollment in the first five months of the open enrollment period. In total, around 7.1 million people enrolled by the March 31 open enrollment deadline, while another 910,500 people enrolled through the administration's special enrollment periods from April 1 to April 19 (Pear, New York Times, 5/1). The surge brought the final total enrollment figure to 8,019,763, the administration reported (Viebeck, The Hill, 5/1).
The report for the first time offered more detailed demographic information on exchange enrollees on age, race and sex. According to the report, of the 3.8 million people who enrolled through HealthCare.gov and voluntarily disclosed such information:
- 63% are white;
- 17% are black;
- 11% are Hispanic; and
- 8% are Asian.
In addition, the report noted that:
- 54% of enrollees were women (New York Times, 5/1); and
- 46% were men (Cheney/Haberkorn, Politico, 5/2).
Meanwhile, the report noted that nearly 2.2 million, or 28%, of the eight million people who enrolled through either the federal or state exchanges were between ages 18 to 34 (New York Times, 5/1). Of those 2.2 million, nearly 1.2 million enrolled during the final weeks of the open enrollment period, The Hill reports (The Hill, 5/1).
More Than 13M Have Obtained Coverage
Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that more than 4.8 million U.S. residents have enrolled in coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, while around three million people under age 26 have received coverage under their parents' health plans because of an ACA provision (New York Times, 5/1). The totals bring the number of people who have gained coverage under the law to around 13 million (The Hill, 5/1).
In addition, Sebelius said that around five million people had purchased private health plans outside of the exchanges (New York Times, 5/1).
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