Federal Health Insurance Marketplaces, established under the Affordable Care Act, signed up nearly 4.9 million new customers for 2016 coverage during the third open enrollment period, which ended on January 31st of this year. Among those enrolled, approximately 17,000 were new NH customers.
In total, about 12.7 million people signed up or automatically renewed their plans for 2016 coverage, of which about 40 percent were new customers.
“Almost 5 million Americans were new to the Health Insurance Marketplaces in 2015 and about 20 million uninsured Americans have gained coverage because of the Affordable Care Act,” says Sylvia M. Burwell, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services. “New customers came in earlier because they wanted a full year’s coverage, and 70 percent of existing customers came back to shop and actively selected a plan.”
NH citizens who switched issuers as well as plans saved $30 per month, or nearly $365 annually for the same level of coverage.
Nationally, about 66 percent of people who changed plans also changed issuers, and 31 percent of people who changed plans also changed their metal level, which are based on how people and their plans split the costs of healthcare.
As with past years, the vast majority of Marketplace customers signed up for coverage and received tax credits. The average tax credit among NH citizens was $241 per month, or 61 percent of the gross premium, and the average premium after tax credits was $155 per month.
Nationally, more than 8 in 10 individuals (10.5 million) who selected or were automatically enrolled in a 2016 plan nationwide qualify for a tax credit.
In NH, 45% of consumers had the option of selecting a 2016 Marketplace plan with a premium of $75 or less per month after tax credits.
About 60 percent (2.4 million) of new enrollees in HealthCare.gov states signed up for January 1st coverage compared to about 40 percent (1.9 million) of new enrollees last year.
While last year’s enrollees signed up just before the final deadline, most of this year's enrollees this year signed up for coverage by the first deadline, as they wanted coverage to start as soon as possible.
This year, 3.5 million people ages 18 to 34 signed up for coverage nationwide. In HealthCare.gov states, 2.7 million young people ages 18 to 34 signed up for 2016 coverage (28 percent of HealthCare.gov state plan selections).
However, among new enrollees, 33 percent (1.3 million) were ages 18 to 34. That’s higher than last year when 31 percent of new customers (800,000) were ages 18 to 34 in HealthCare.gov states. The overall percentage of plan selections for those ages remains stable.
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