Qualified Health Plan Enrollment Outpacing Last Year
Over 45,000 Consumers Newly Enroll in a Qualified Health Plan and the Essential Plan in First Month
New York’s Uninsured Rate Drops to 4.7 Percent in 2017 - Lowest to Date
Website and Call Center Activity High
ALBANY, N.Y. (November 30, 2017) - NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced that more than 45,800 new enrollees already have enrolled in coverage in the first four weeks of the 2018 open enrollment which started on November 1. This includes nearly 14,500 consumers who have enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan (QHP) and 31,350 who have enrolled in the Essential Plan for lower income New Yorkers.
In the first four weeks of the 2018 open enrollment period, enrollment is outpacing last year by about 13 percent. More than 140,000 consumers have already renewed coverage or newly enrolled in a QHP for 2018 and Essential Plan enrollment has reached nearly 700,000. Open Enrollment in a QHP continues through January 31, 2018. Consumers must enroll by December 15, 2017 for coverage beginning January 1, 2018. Enrollment in the Essential Plan is open all year.
“NY State of Health is off to a busy start. New consumers are enrolling at a rapid pace and we are in the process of renewing 400,000 households into coverage,” said NY State of Health Executive Director Donna Frescatore. “NY State of Health has a lot of offer: choice of health plans in every county and costs that are the same or lower than 2017.”
Since the start of Open Enrollment, the NY State of Health Customer Service Center has answered more than 519,000 calls. The NY State of Health website has also experienced high traffic with over 31 million website page views and more than 650,000 unique visitors. These website volumes are higher than the same point last year.
More than 4 million -- more than 1 in 5 New Yorkers -- have enrolled in quality, affordable health insurance coverage through NY State of Health. New York has seen a corresponding drop in its uninsured rate. According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in early November, New York’s uninsured rate has reached a new low of 4.7 percent compared to 10 percent in 2013 when NY State of Health opened.
Most individuals who buy coverage through the NY State of Health receive financial assistance. Many individuals who qualify for federal tax credits to purchase a QHP will see premiums for comparable coverage decrease in 2018. On average, consumers who select the most popular silver level plan will see their premium decrease by five percent. After tax credits, individuals making $25,000 a year can enroll in Bronze level coverage in a QHP for free in 43 counties of the state. Essential Plan coverage costs $20 or nothing for eligible New Yorkers.
Enrollment in the Essential Plan, Medicaid and Child Health Plus is open all year. For information on enrollment eligibility or to enroll in a health plan, visit nystateofhealth.ny.gov, call the Customer Service Center at 1-855-355-5777, or contact an enrollment assistor.
NY State of Health representatives will be available at many events across the state to educate New Yorkers about the Marketplace, and to enroll consumers in health plans. A list of locations is available on the events map.
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Contact: NY 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.