Obamacare Sign-Up Period: Healthcare.gov Gains 765,000 Plan Selections in First Two Open Enrollment Weeks
After completing two full weeks of the second open enrollment period of Healthcare.gov, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that more than 765,000 health care insurance plans have been selected.
The second week of Healthcare.gov's open enrollment period, between Nov. 22 and Nov. 28, accrued 303,010 plans selected. With the first week, which launched on Nov. 15, HHS noted 765,135 plans were selected by Nov. 28.
For the second week's open enrollment period, 51 percent were consumers seeking to renew their health care insurance plans, while 49 percent were new consumers to the federal marketplace exchange.
The second week saw 520,427 applications submitted, which increased the totals of the second enrollment period to about 1.552 million submitted applications.
Compared to the first week, contacts to Healthcare.gov's call center and visits to the website -- both English and Spanish services -- declined. The call center's volume hit 484,867 calls during the second week, which is down from the first week's about 1.069 million calls. Calls for a Spanish-speaking representative also declined with 47,190 calls during week two, down more than half from 101,864 during week one of the enrollment period.
The average waiting time for a Spanish-speaking representative is less than the English equivalent. For the cumulative first two weeks, the average waiting time for an English-speaking representative is two minutes and seven seconds, while the wait time for a Spanish speaker is eigh seconds.
Visits to Healthcare.gov's English and Spanish websites also declined. The main Healthcare.gov attracted about 2.077 million users during the second week, which brought its totals to about 5.459 million users for the first two weeks of the second open enrollment period. The Spanish website, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, garnered 64,170 users, significantly less than the first week's 89,432 users.
"The first deadline is just a couple of weeks away on Dec. 15," HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement. "We're encouraging everyone who is already covered through the Marketplace to come back and shop because there could be savings. And for those who are thinking about getting health coverage, take a look at your options -- most consumers qualify for financial help. We expect even more consumers to shop and save during the next two weeks."
According to the National Journal, HHS acknowledged its target for the second open enrollment period is to cover 9-10 million people for 2015.
According to HHS, 37 states use the federal marketplace since these states have not adopted a local-level health insurance exchange website. The 37 states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Enrollees who select a plan by Dec. 15 could start receiving their coverage starting Jan. 1, 2015. The second open enrollment period concludes Feb. 15. Obtaining health insurance from Healthcare.gov is only valid for U.S. citizens still living within the country. Individuals who chose not to receive health insurance will pay a higher penalty fee for 2015 than the rate set in 2014. For 2015's rates, the penalty is 2 percent of the individual's income or $325 per adult and $162.50 per child, "whichever is more."
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
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