2.5 million people enroll for coverage through exchange
An estimated 2.5 million new people have enrolled in health insurance exchanges throughout the United States, according to reports from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency is responsible for managing the exchanges nationwide and has seen a significant increase in consumer activity over the past month. This year’s open enrollment period has, thus far, proven to be less turbulent than last year’s as exchanges have managed to avoid serious technical difficulties.
Exchanges have managed to avoid the technical difficulties they experienced last year
Last year, technical problems prevented many states from opening their exchanges on time, making it impossible for consumers to find insurance coverage. Similar issues with the federal exchange network made the matter more problematic as insurance brokers and their customers found it difficult to actually use exchanges to enroll for coverage. Over the past several months, states have been working to improve their exchanges, with the aid of the federal government.
Consumers are being encourage to enroll in exchanges manually
During the last open enrollment period, some 7 million people found coverage through health insurance exchanges. The majority of these people are expected to be automatically enrolled in their chosen insurance plans unless they opt out of this process. Federal officials are encouraging consumers to manually enroll as well, as the automation process may not be perfect and any technical difficulties could leave someone without coverage. Manually enrollment will also give consumers a chance to make changes to any information they had submitted during the last open enrollment period.
Some 10.5 million people may be enrolled in exchanges by the end of 2015
The federal government expects to have as many as 9 million people enrolled in health insurance exchanges by the end of 2015. Consulting firm Avalere Health predicts that the number of people enrolled in exchanges will be closer to 10.5 million by the end of next year. Promotional campaigns may play a major role in getting people to enroll for coverage, as many consumers are currently unaware of the options they have through insurance exchanges.
