Open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, where approximately 12 million people buy health insurance, begins today Wednesday, November 1 and continues until December 15. According to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services’ policy division, 80 percent of HealthCare.gov enrollees will be able to purchase a plan for $75 or less per month — making the 2018 insurance exchanges the lowest ever premiums for many consumers.
While the Trump administration is doing everything it can to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, powerhouse states like California and New York are going all out to keep their marketplaces stable, creating a powerful counter-narrative to the negativity and uncertainty fostered and favored by the Trump administration from the time it took office. This is significant, in part, because when you add it up the Golden State and the Empire State have the biggest state-run exchanges in the country. Last year, 1.4 million people enrolled in a Covered California plan — and 86 percent of them received financial help.
Nationwide, ACA exchanges are getting cheaper for people with low incomes who qualify for subsidies to help pay their premiums. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services predicts that in 2018, 80 percent of marketplace enrollees will qualify for the federal assistance, up from 71 percent last year. Even though the Trump administration isn’t promoting going to tell you, insurers are still required under law to provide cost-sharing reductions, or CSR discounts, for individuals with low incomes to help pay for deductibles, copayments and coinsurance costs.
The Bottom Line? To match the number of enrollees for 2017 (and have a better chance of stabilizing the market), the target number needed to sign-up for 2018 is 12.2 million. Efforts to enroll, recruit, and resist will be crucial in meeting this goal. Experts have predicted sign-ups will be significantly less this year — perhaps by as much as 1 million — given the administration’s cuts to advertising and outreach and only six weeks for consumers to enroll instead of three months.
- Open enrollment on the health care marketplace begins November 1 and lasts until December 15 on HealthCare.gov #EnrollmentIsResistance #GetCovered
- It doesn’t matter if this is your first time enrolling for health care coverage, or if you are shopping around for a different plan, everyone must either enroll or change their health care plan by December 15
- If you do not enroll for health insurance odds are you will have to pay a penalty. The minimum penalty for not enrolling for health insurance is $695
- Last year, 8 in 10 people who enrolled qualified for financial help. For most, that meant their premiums ended up costing somewhere between $50 and $100 a month.
- Free help is available. If you have questions about signing up or want to talk through your options with a trained professional, free help is just a call or click away. Call 1-800-318-2596 or visit localhelp.healthcare.gov
- For additional information, or to get help, you can also use the #GetCovered Connector at: http://bit.ly/2zMo9RD