Sign-Ups Rise as End of ACA’s Second Open Enrollment Period Nears
Federal exchange enrollments are ramping up as the Feb. 15 close to the Affordable Care Act's second open enrollment period nears, Modern Healthcare reports.
According to HHS data released Wednesday, more than 7.7 million individuals have newly enrolled or re-enrolled in health plans through the federal exchange as of Feb. 6. HHS officials said 275,676 of those enrollments occurred last week, up from an average of about 100,000 weekly (Dickson, Modern Healthcare, 2/11).
Further, officials said that traffic to HealthCare.gov increased by about 58% on Wednesday morning, compared with the same time last week (Millman, "Wonkblog," Washington Post, 2/11). In addition, calls to federal enrollment call centers increased by about 37% over the past week (Ferris, The Hill, 2/11).
Meanwhile, federal officials said enrollment during the past week surged in some Southern states, including:
- Louisiana;
- Mississippi;
- South Carolina; and
- Texas ("Wonkblog," Washington Post, 2/11).
According to CMS Deputy Administrator Andy Slavitt, exchange enrollment has increased by 80% in each of those states compared with last year's open enrollment period. Slavitt said, "We are continuing to see momentum build and traffic ramp" (The Hill, 2/11).
The figures do not include enrollment through state-run exchanges (Morgan, Reuters, 2/11). HHS data released last week showed about 2.4 million individuals enrolled in coverage in the 13 states and Washington, D.C., that run their own exchanges ("Wonkblog," Washington Post, 2/11).
HHS in November 2014 estimated that between nine million and 9.9 million individuals would enroll in plans through the ACA's federal and state exchanges during the second open enrollment period (California Healthline, 11/11/14).
Federal officials noted that enrollment numbers would change as people:
- Drop out of coverage;
- Find other coverage sources; or
- Qualify for special enrollment periods ("Wonkblog," Washington Post, 2/11).