Press Release: NY State of Health Enrollment Continues to Climb

More than 3.5 Million New Yorkers Enrolled Through January 19

Call Center Volume Surges with 50,000 calls in one day

 

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 20, 2017) – NY State of Health, the state's official health plan Marketplace today announced that as of January 19, more than 3.5 million New Yorkers have enrolled in a health plan through the Marketplace. The number of New Yorkers enrolling continues to climb- more than 52,000 people signed up for coverage through the Marketplace in the past month. NY State of Health extended the enrollment deadline for February 1 coverage from January 15 to January 18. The final deadline to enroll in a health plan for 2017 is January 31.

"This steady increase in enrollment shows how much New Yorkers want and need the health insurance coverage offered by the Marketplace,” said NY State of Health Executive Director Donna Frescatore. “With the final 2017 enrollment deadline approaching fast, New Yorkers who need health insurance for 2017 should reach out to the Marketplace or an in-person assistor now.”  

Uninsured Stats

  • Enrollment has increased in all 62 counties of the state.
  • The overall share of New Yorkers now enrolled through the NY State of Health has reached nearly 18 percent of the state’s population.
  • The impact of the enrollment growth on the number and rate of uninsured in New York has been significant: there has been a reduction of 850,000 uninsured people and the rate of uninsured cut from 10% to 5% between 2013 and 2015.

Customer Service Stats

  • On Tuesday, January 17, the day before the deadline for February 1 coverage, the Customer Service Center received 50,000 calls –an average of 4,000 calls per hour and a 55 percent jump from last week’s average call volume. This volume represents a much larger surge than the same period in 2016.
  • Since open enrollment began on November 1, NY State of Health’s Customer Service Center has answered more than 1.5 million calls.  

Enrollment Stats

The breakdown of enrollment as of January 19, 2017, is as follows:

  • Total cumulative enrollment: 3,524,453
  • Total Medicaid enrollment:   2,359,652
  • Total Non-Medicaid enrollment: 1,164,801
    • Essential Plan: 642,952
    • Qualified Health Plan: 228,659
    • Child Health Plus: 293,190

Open enrollment for Qualified Health Plans (QHP) began on November 1, 2016 and ends on January 31, 2017. Many consumers buying plans through the Marketplace will qualify for increased financial assistance in 2017 to help make coverage more affordable. Consumers who don’t enroll in a QHP by January 31 won’t be able to enroll for the rest of 2017, unless they have a qualifying life event.

Consumers eligible for Medicaid, Child Health Plus and the Essential Plan also are encouraged to enroll now. Consumers who have questions or need help enrolling can log onto www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov, call 1-855-355-5777 or make an appointment with an in-person assistor. Customer service hours are Monday- Friday 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

 

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Contact: New York State Department of Health

518 474 7354, ext. 1

press@health.ny.gov

 

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.

 

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