Health Care Consumer and Advocacy Groups Hustle

New Hampshire health care consumer and advocacy groups are making a final push to bolster Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollment before the upcoming deadline on Friday. And in a protracted enrollment period, they are finding success: According to the latest enrollment report from CMS, 25,242 Granite Staters had enrolled in a new plan by Dec. 9. During the same time period in the last enrollment period, 21,154 Granite Staters had selected a plan by Dec. 10.
 
Other key facts from the latest enrollment numbers:
• 3,728 more people enrolled in NH than this time last year – or 17 percent more;
• 662,652 more people enrolled across the nation than this time last year – or 17 percent more;
• Another 31,510 Granite Staters enrolled or auto-enrolled in coverage during this week and the additional six weeks of open enrollment last year, or 59.4 percent of total enrollment.
 
Health care consumer and advocacy groups note that the enrollment numbers to date are promising, but with this year’'s open enrollment period cut in half and advertising for it slashed by 90 percent, many Granite State individuals and families could be left out in the cold unless they enroll by the Dec. 15 deadline."“We are committed to making sure Granite Staters have important information about the open enrollment period and the resources available to them to find and afford critical health care coverage,"” says Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director of Granite State Progress Education Fund and project manager for Covering NH.