27% of 2014 individual market enrollees previously lacked coverage, study says

Individuals who previously lacked insurance coverage represent more than a quarter of those who have enrolled in 2014 coverage, according to a report by the McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform.

Of more than 2,000 individuals surveyed in February who were eligible to enroll in commercial health plans, 48% indicated that they had signed up for coverage; 27% of all survey respondents who indicated that they had enrolled in coverage for 2014 also indicated that they were uninsured in 2013, the report found.

That's a significant increase compared with earlier surveys conducted by McKinsey between November and January. Previously, only 11% of respondents who had signed up for 2014 coverage indicated that they had lacked healthcare coverage during the prior year.

Of all the individuals who were previously uninsured, which was slightly more than half of those surveyed, 10% indicated that they had enrolled in coverage for 2014. That compared with only 3% of previously uninsured respondents who indicated that they had acquired coverage between November and January. The McKinsey study also provided some indication of how many individuals are following through with payments once they have signed up for coverage. More than three quarters of those individuals who signed up for a plan indicated that they made their first payment to an insurer.

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