Demographic data show more than 80 percent previously uninsured, enrollments in every county in the state, all health plans represented, and mix of age groups
ALBANY (June 25, 2014) – NY State of Health (NYSOH), the State’s official health plan marketplace, today released demographic enrollment data on the nearly 1 million New Yorkers who enrolled in health plans from October 1, 2013 through April 15, 2014. The Marketplace is well on its way to meeting or exceeding the goal of 1.1 million enrollees by the end of 2016.
The data, which represent the first-year open enrollment period, show that more than 80 percent of enrollees reported being uninsured at the time of application, enrollment occurred in every county in the state and across all health plans, and across a mix of age groups. From October 1, 2013 and through April 15, 2014, 960,762 New Yorkers enrolled into a health plan through NY State of Health. The complete report is attached and is also available on the NY State of Health website at https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/.
“Year one of the marketplace has been a tremendous success with more than 960,000 New Yorkers enrolling in quality, low-cost health insurance,” said Donna Frescatore, executive director of NY State of Health. “The year-one results show strong activity throughout the state and across many important measures such as age, prior insurance status, affordability, and health plan options. We’re looking forward to building upon this success during the next open enrollment period, which begins for individuals and families on November 15, 2014 for coverage starting on January 1, 2015.”
NYSOH Enrollment through April 15, 2014:
Total: 960,762
Qualified Health Plan: 370,604
Child Health Plus: 64,875
Medicaid: 525,283
Summary of enrollment demographic information through April 15, 2014:
Financial Assistance
A total of 370,604 individuals enrolled in qualified health plans (QHPs) through April 15, 2014. Within that group, three-quarters (or 273,888) received financial assistance to reduce the cost of their insurance. The average tax credit was $215 per month.
Percentage of Uninsured Enrollees
More than 80 percent of New Yorkers reported that they were uninsured when the applied for coverage through the Marketplace. Medicaid and Child Health Plus enrollees were more likely to report being uninsured than Qualified Health Plan enrollees.
Enrollment by Region and County
New Yorkers from every region and county in the State have enrolled in the Marketplace, with 52 percent of enrollees in New York City and 48 percent of enrollees in other areas of the State. Counties with the largest enrollment are Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Suffolk, Manhattan, Nassau, Westchester, Erie, and Monroe.
Enrollment by Health Plan
Each of the 16 health plans offering coverage through NY State of Health enrolled members into Qualified Health Plans (QHP). Four plans each enrolled 10 percent or more: Health Republic (19 percent), Fidelis (17 percent), MetroPlus (15 percent), Empire (14 percent). Nine percent of enrollees are enrolled in EmblemHealth, eight percent in MVP Health Care and the remaining 18 percent of enrollees were spread across other plans.
Qualified Health Plan Enrollment Level
The Marketplace offers Qualified Health Plans at four different metal levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Thirteen percent of enrollees are enrolled in Platinum level plans, 10 percent are in Gold level plans, 10 percent are in Silver level plans, 45 percent are in one of three Silver level Cost Sharing Reduction plans, 19 percent are in Bronze level plans, and 2 percent are in Catastrophic level plans.
Enrollment by Age
Marketplace enrollees include a mix of New Yorkers across all age groups. Thirty-four percent of New Yorkers enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan are under the age of 35, 18 percent are between ages 35 and 44, 23 percent between ages 45-54, and 25 percent are over the age of 55.
Enrollments by Gender
Enrollment is nearly evenly split between males and females, with females comprising a slightly larger percentage of total enrollees.
Application Assistance
NY State of Health has trained and certified nearly 9,000 people to provide free, in-person enrollment assistance to New Yorkers applying for coverage through the Marketplace. Forty-nine percent of enrollees across all programs enrolled sought the assistance of an in-person assistor; 41 percent enrolled through the website without an assistor; and 11 enrolled by phone with the help of a customer service representative. Medicaid and Child Health Plus enrollees were the most likely to work with an in-person assistor.
Small Business Enrollment
Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees can enroll in the Small Business Marketplace (SBM) throughout the year. As of April 15, 2014, 3,106 small businesses representing employers in every county of the state offered insurance to their employees through the SBM. The vast majority of employers, 94 percent, used the flexibility of the SBM to offer their employees a choice of two or more coverage options.
Website Activity
The Marketplace has experienced very high volumes of website visitors; there have been 4,594,348 unique visitors to the website and page views total 131,840,172 web pages. The website operated smoothly with an average system-response time of 3.48 seconds for each page.
Customer Service Center
Between October 1, 2013 and April 15, 2014, the NY State of Health Customer Service Center answered 1,207,744 calls from New Yorkers. Call volume reached more than 21,000 calls per day in the last two weeks leading up to the enrollment deadline. The Marketplace’s social media channels also served as an important source of information and assistance to consumers providing responses to about 6,500 posted comments and questions.
With the close of this open enrollment period, only those individuals and families who qualify for a Special Enrollment Period will be able to enroll in coverage during the remainder of 2014. Special Enrollment Period qualifying events include getting married or divorced, gaining a dependent, losing employer insurance, or permanently moving into New York State.
Individuals and families who do not qualify for a Special Enrollment Period will not be able to enroll in coverage until the next open enrollment period, which begins on November 15, 2014 for coverage starting on January 1, 2015. New Yorkers eligible for Medicaid and all children can enroll in coverage through NY State of Health at any time during the year. NY State of Health’s Small Business Marketplace for employers with 50 or fewer employees is open to enrollment throughout the year.
NY State of Health web site, the NY State of Health customer service center and certified in-person assistors statewide remain available to assist eligible New Yorkers with enrollment. Individuals and families can get information and enroll in a plan either online at https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/ , by calling toll-free at 1-855-355-5777, or in-person with a certified assistor. Lists of in-person assistors can be found on the NY State of Health web site.
The Small Business Marketplace offers small businesses with 50 or fewer employees a range of flexible options to meet their needs. Small business can access expert advice and enroll on NYSOH online at https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/employer , by calling toll-free at 1-855-355-5777 or by contacting an insurance broker.
###
Contact: New York State Department of Health
518 474 7354, ext. 1