Payments for exchange health insurance policies begin coming in

Health Insurance Premiums Rise

Insurers are reporting that first payments for exchange policies are beginning to come in from consumers

Health Insurance Premiums RiseSeveral large insurance companies in the U.S. have reported that the vast majority of people that have received insurance policies through exchanges have begun to pay for their coverage. Approximately 80% of these people have already made their first payment, with more to follow in the coming weeks. This information was shared during a hearing concerning the Affordable Care Act, wherein legislators sought to establish a better understanding of how the law was affecting health care and how the country’s citizens were adapting.

Duplicate enrollments are inflating actual enrollment numbers coming from exchanges

While the majority of consumers have made their first premium payment, insurers are still facing several problems that are related to insurance exchanges. Among the 8 million people that have enrolled for coverage through exchanges are numerous “duplicate enrollments.” These enrollments come from people that tried to enroll for coverage when the open enrollment for exchanges began in October of 2013. Exchanges had been crippled by technical faults in the early stages of open enrollment, which made it impossible for consumers to complete the enrollment process.

It may take months to filter through all the duplicate enrollments that have flooded exchanges

It could take several months before insurers know for sure how many people have signed up for health insurance coverage. Currently, the 8 million figure is considered an optimistic estimation. As duplicate enrollments are filtered out, the actual number of people that have enrolled for coverage may lower, but by how much is difficult to determine at this time.

States are working on fixing the problems with their exchanges ahead of a new open enrollment period set to launch near the end of this year

Nearly every large insurance company has reported an increase in signups since the open enrollment period of health insurance exchanges. Consumers appear to have taken advantage of the exchanges in their states despite the technical problems they faced in doing so. Many states are currently working to improve their exchanges in order to prepare for another open enrollment period that will be launched later this year.

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