MORE THAN 100,000 NEW YORKERS HAVE ENROLLED IN HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS THROUGH NY STATE OF HEALTH
More than 314,000 New Yorkers Have Completed Full Applications on the NY State of Health Marketplace
ALBANY (Dec. 9, 2013) – The NY State of Health (NYSOH), the State’s official health plan marketplace, reported that as of 9am today, 314,146 New Yorkers had completed their applications and 100,881 people have enrolled for coverage starting on January 1, 2014. Those who have completed applications simply need to choose which plan they want to enroll in. New Yorkers have until March 31 to enroll, and the first round of coverage begins January 1, 2014. To be covered by January 1, 2014, individuals must enroll by December 23, 2013.
Thousands of New Yorkers enroll each day through the Marketplace, and people who purchase their coverage directly are seeing premium rates that are 53 percent lower than the rates in effect in 2013 for comparable coverage. To further reduce costs, NY State of Health is making available financial assistance in the form of federal tax credits to help reduce the monthly cost of coverage. New York is on track to reach its enrollment goal of 1.1 million people by the end of 2016.
NY State of Health customer service representatives have answered more than 250,000 calls since the October 1 launch of the Marketplace, and the volume is increasing as the December 23 deadline to purchase coverage for January 1, 2014 approaches. Over 5,000 specially trained and certified assistors are available in counties throughout the state to help people apply in person.
“In just over two months since the launch of NY State of Health, more than 100,000 New Yorkers have enrolled in quality, low-cost health insurance and over 314,000 have completed applications and are eligible for insurance,” Donna Frescatore, executive director of NY State of Health, said. “We are very pleased to see these results, which show that tens of thousands of individuals and across the state are turning to nystateofhealth.ny.gov to access low-cost health insurance.”
The rates for the health plans on NYSOH represent a 53 percent reduction compared to the previous year’s individual rates. In addition to this cost-savings, it is estimated that nearly three-quarters of individual enrollees will qualify for financial assistance. New Yorkers can access available plans, estimated costs, and financial assistance (for their county) by using the Tax Credit and Premium Estimator at http://info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/PremiumEstimator.
Plans offered on NYSOH are available in four easy-to-compare metal tiers (platinum, gold, silver, and bronze) from 16 qualified insurers and 10 qualified dental insurers. New Yorkers can see plans available in their area at http://info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/PlansMap
The Small Business Marketplace offers small businesses with 50 or fewer employees a range of flexible options to meet their needs. Small businesses can access expert advice and enroll on NYSOH either online at https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/employer, by calling toll-free at 1-855-355-5777, or by contacting an insurance broker.
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 through a navigator. A list of community navigators can be found by county on the website.
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Contact:
The New York State Department of Health
518 474 7354, ext. 1