Nearly 3.4 million people have chosen an Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace health plan since the open enrollment period began on November 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid reported Tuesday.
This represents a 17% increase in total ACA plan selections — both through HealthCare.gov and state-based Marketplaces — compared with last year, CMS said. Enrollment through the federal HealthCare.gov has especially seen a rise of 40% from the same period last year.
CMS’ data includes enrollment through November 19 for 33 states using HealthCare.gov and enrollment through November 12 for 16 states and Washington D.C. using state-based Marketplaces. The 2023 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period ends on January 15 for HealthCare.gov, but deadlines vary for state-based Marketplaces.
“Providing quality, affordable health care options remains a top priority. The numbers prove that our focus is in the right place. In the first weeks of Open Enrollment, we have seen an increase in plan selections and a significant increase in the number of new enrollees over the previous year,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in a news release.
In total, there have been nearly 655,000 new consumers enrolling in the Marketplace and more than 2.7 million returning consumers, the CMS report showed.
HealthCare.gov has received almost 3 million enrollments, with more than 584,000 new consumers and more than 2.4 million returning consumers, according to CMS. State-based Marketplaces, meanwhile, has had nearly 387,000 enrollees in total, with almost 71,000 new enrollees and more than 316,000 returning.
The news comes after the Biden-Harris administration announced in August that it is investing a historic $98.9 million to 59 navigator organizations to help consumers during the 2023 open enrollment period. It surpassed the $80 million investment made by the administration for the 2022 open enrollment period. In contrast, the Trump administration gave just $10 million to 39 navigator organizations for the 2019 period.
In early 2022, the national uninsured rate reached a record low of 8%, the Department of Health and Human Services reported in August. The Biden-Harris administration hopes to continue that trend, said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra this Tuesday.
“We are off to a strong start — and we will not rest until we can connect everyone possible to health care coverage this enrollment season,” Becerra said in the news release. “The Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic action to expand access to health care, and ensure everyone can have the peace of mind that comes with being insured. With four out of five people eligible for coverage at $10 or less, do not miss your opportunity to sign up for high-quality, affordable health care.”
Photo: YinYang, Getty Images
