More than 80,000 Tennesseans pick Health Insurance Marketplace plan in first month

Federal officials announced Tuesday that 87,137 people in Tennessee selected plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace leading up to the December 15 deadline for coverage beginning January 1.

It was the first month of open enrollment this year.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 83 percent of Tennesseans who selected a 2015 plan are getting financial assistance to lower monthly premiums. That compared to 75 percent who selected plans over a similar period last year.

Of the 87,137 Tennesseans who selected a plan, 51 percent re-enrolled in a Marketplace plan in 2015, and 49 percent signed up for the first time, HHS said in a press release.

“Today’s report provides the first detailed analysis of enrollment in the Marketplaces for the first month of the 2015 open enrollment period,” the release said. “Because the automatic re-enrollment process for the 37 states using the HealthCare.gov platform (including Tennessee) began on December 16 and was completed for the vast majority of consumers on December 18, today’s report with data through December 15 does not fully capture the number of people who selected plans leading up to the deadline for January 1, 2015 coverage.”

“We’re pleased that, in Tennessee, 87,137 people signed up for Marketplace coverage during the first month of open enrollment,” HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said. “The vast majority were able to lower their costs even further by getting tax credits, making a difference in the bottom lines of so many families. Interest in the Marketplace has been strong during the first month of open enrollment. We still have a ways to go and a lot of work to do before February 15, but this is an encouraging start.”

Nationwide, more than 4 million people signed up for the first time or re-enrolled in coverage for 2015 during the first month of open enrollment, the press release said. That includes more than 3.4 million people who selected a plan in the 37 states that are using the HealthCare.gov platform for 2015 (including Tennessee), and more than 600,000 consumers who selected plans in the 14 states that are operating their own Marketplace platform for 2015.

HHS also released a Weekly Enrollment Snapshot that captures more recent enrollment activity in the Marketplace. The Weekly Snapshot shows that from November 15 to December 26, nearly 6.5 million consumers selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled.

Open Enrollment in the Marketplace runs from November 15, 2014, through February 15, 2015. The press release said consumers should visit HealthCare.gov to review and compare health plan options. Consumers shopping for health insurance coverage should sign up by January 15, 2015, in order to have coverage effective on February 1, 2015.  If consumers who were automatically re-enrolled decide in the coming weeks that a better plan exists for their families, they can make that change at any time before the end of open enrollment on February 15.

The press release said consumers can find local help at Localhelp.healthcare.gov/. Or call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. TTY users should call 1-855- 889-4325. Translation services are available. The call is free.

The information contained in Tuesday’s report provides the most systematic summary of enrollment-related activity in the Marketplaces to date, the press release said. Data for the various metrics are counted using comparable definitions for data elements across states and Marketplace types.

To read the monthly enrollment report, visit http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2014/MarketPlaceEnrollment/Dec2014/ib_2014Dec_enrollment.pdf.