New York insurance exchange sees a spike sign ups as open enrollment comes to a close
An estimated 100,000 New Yorkers have signed up for insurance coverage through the state’s exchanges over the past week. To date, more than 812,000 people have signed up for coverage through the insurance exchange. Open enrollment for the exchange ended on March 31, meaning that those still uninsured may be subject to federal tax penalties. Those without insurance coverage can still find policies through the private market, of course, but may still be exposed to federal penalties.
70% of enrollees did not have insurance coverage before enrolling into the state’s exchange
Approximately 70% of those that have enrolled for coverage through the state’s insurance exchange did not have any form of insurance coverage before enrolling. The state currently has a goal of enrolling 1.1 million people into the exchange by 2016. Another open enrollment period for the exchange will begin in November of this year, giving state residents another change to find affordable health insurance coverage.
HHS reports that 6 million people nationwide have enrolled into insurance exchanges
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 6 million people nationwide have signed up for insurance coverage through exchanges. The federal government has been working on marketing these exchanges, especially to younger people, in order to boost enrollment numbers and increase awareness of the services that these exchanges offer. These marketing attempts have been successful despite the controversy that surrounds the Affordable Care Act.
Government works to reach out to younger consumers for the sake of market balance
Reaching out to younger consumers has been a priority recently due to perceived imbalances in the insurance market. If older, sicker consumers populated the market entirely, insurance costs would have been expected to rise dramatically over the coming years as insurers would be exposed to more medical costs. Younger consumers are generally healthy and have little use for insurance coverage. In recent months, young consumers have shown interest in insurance exchanges, but many may have to turn to the private market in order to find the insurance coverage they need.
