Almost 39,000 New Yorkers enrolled on March 31
Nearly 134,000 New Yorkers enrolled over the last week
ALBANY (April 1, 2014) – NY State of Health (NYSOH), the State’s official health plan marketplace, reported that as of 9 a.m. today, 1,217,493 New Yorkers have completed their applications and 865,487 have enrolled for coverage since the launch of the Marketplace on October 1, 2013. More than 70 percent of those who have enrolled to date were uninsured at the time of application. The Marketplace is on track to meet or exceed its enrollment goal of 1.1 million people by the end of 2016.
Yesterday alone, almost 39,000 New Yorkers enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace, and nearly 134,000 enrolled over the last week. These gains represent the highest volume of enrollments since the launch of NY State of Health. Throughout March, enrollment volume was very heavy, with 9,000 - 11,000 people enrolling daily. More than 53,000 New Yorkers enrolled over the final two days of open enrollment including over 38,000 on March 31.
Almost 468,000 people visited the NY state of Health website on March 31, the deadline for open enrollment for individuals. Of those, 122,854 were visiting the site for the first time.
Activity was also high at the NY State of Health Customer Service Center. The Customer Service Center answered more than 113,000 calls during the last week of the open enrollment period, including nearly 18,000 on March 31 alone. The Customer Service Center answered more than 1 million calls since the launch of the Marketplace.
While March 31, 2014 represented the deadline for individuals and families to enroll in coverage through NY State of Health, the Marketplace will provide additional assistance to those individuals who have taken steps to apply for coverage but have been unable to complete the enrollment process to date. All applications and enrollments in health plans must be completed by the end of the day on April 15, 2014.
“Year one on the Marketplace has been great success, and we’re thrilled that more than 865,000 New Yorkers have enrolled in quality, low-cost insurance,” said Donna Frescatore, executive director of NY State of Health. “Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to have the peace of mind and security that come with having quality, affordable health insurance. Going forward, we will continue to help individuals, families and small businesses across the state to access the insurance coverage they need.”
With the exception of individuals who took steps to enroll prior to the March 31 deadline yet require assistance to complete their enrollment, 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 website, the NY State of Health customer service center and certified in-person assistors will remain available to assist those New Yorkers who are eligible to enroll throughout the remainder of the year.
More than 8,800 specially trained and certified assistors are available in counties throughout the state to help people apply in person. 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.
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.
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Contact:
The New York State Department of Health
518 474 7354, ext. 1
News Type
Press Releases