Marketplace enrollment is 700,000 higher than the end of Open Enrollment 2017
Nearly 1 million New Yorkers are enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan or Essential Plan
ALBANY, N.Y. (February 01, 2018) -- NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced that more than 4.3 million New Yorkers have enrolled in comprehensive health coverage through NY State of Health, an increase of 700,000 people from 2017. The 2018 Open Enrollment Period finished strong with nearly 1 million people combined enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan and the Essential Plan, an increase of 84,000 since the end of open enrollment in 2017. New York’s decision to extend the 2018 Open Enrollment Period by six weeks from December 15, 2017 to January 31, 2018 was also validated; an additional 24,000 individuals gained Qualified Health Plan coverage during this period.
“Covering 4.3 million New Yorkers is truly a historic milestone,” said NY State of Health Executive Director, Donna Frescatore. “More consumers than ever before are using the Marketplace for their health plan needs, proving that demand for quality, affordable coverage is at an all-time high – demand that NY State of Health is able to meet.”
As of January 31, 2018:
More than 1.36 million people enrolled in a non-Medicaid program through the Marketplace:
- 253,102 in a Qualified Health Plan – including 149,000 (59 percent) who enrolled with financial assistance and 104,000 (41 percent) who enrolled without financial assistance
- 738,851 in the popular Essential Plan for lower income New Yorkers
- 374,577 in Child Health Plus
And, 2,965,863 people enrolled in Medicaid through the Marketplace.
NY State of Health had a lot to offer this Open Enrollment Period: affordable choices – in many cases lower costs than 2017 – and a broad choice of health plans. The Marketplace worked to get its message out and counter consumer confusion about coverage and enrollment deadlines. Throughout the open enrollment period, Marketplace representatives participated in nearly 470 events, sent more than 1.2 million personalized emails to consumers, with important reminders about the steps they needed to take to renew or enroll in coverage, and advertised across the state. New Yorkers responded: during the 2018 Open Enrollment Period, website traffic and call center volume surged, with nearly 2 million website visitors and over 1.8 million calls to Customer Service, including over 42,000 calls on January 31st alone.
Additional demographic and health plan specific information for the 2018 Open Enrollment Period will be available in the coming weeks.
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Contact: New York State Department of Health
518-474-7354, Ext. 1
About NY State of Health
New York opened its health plan Marketplace, NY State of Health in October 2013. The Marketplace’s one stop health insurance shopping experience offers high quality comprehensive health plans. NY State of Health is the only place where consumers can qualify to get help paying for coverage through premium discounts or tax credits. Eligible New Yorkers can also enroll in Medicaid, Child Health Plus and the Essential Plan through the Marketplace all year. For more information about the NY State of Health Marketplace, please visit: https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/ or call Customer Service at 1-855-355-5777, TTY: 1-800-662-1220 or find an enrollment assistor.