Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women Leaders
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2024
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Insurance
December 20, 2019 02:59 PM

ACA exchange sign-ups hold steady

Shelby Livingston
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Emily Olsen

    Enrollment in Affordable Care Act exchange coverage for 2020 remains largely stable compared with the current year, preliminary federal data released Friday show.

    The CMS said 8.3 million people signed up or were automatically enrolled in a health plan during the HealthCare.gov open enrollment through Dec. 17. That's a dip of 1.8% from roughly 8.5 million sign-ups in open enrollment last year.

    CMS Administrator Seema Verma cheered the stability of the exchanges while simultaneously reiterating the Trump administration's claims that the exchanges are failing.

    "We are reporting that for the third year in a row enrollment in the federal exchange remained stable. Far from undermining the Affordable Care Act, as some hysterical and inaccurate claims would have it, the Trump administration is making the very best of what remains a failed experiment," she said in a statement.

    Total sign-ups in states using HealthCare.gov could be higher than reported. The tally does not include the final three hours of open enrollment, which was extended for an extra 36 hours after HealthCare.gov experienced some glitches on Dec. 15. It also does not include plan selections from people who left their contact information at the call center due to high volume.

    The final tally also doesn't include the millions of people who chose a health plan through the 12 other state-run exchanges. A report that folds in those numbers is slated to come out in March, the CMS said.

    Part of the decrease in enrollment can be attributed to Nevada's switch to a state-based exchange for 2020. About 84,000 people in Nevada enrolled in a plan last year; this year's count doesn't include sign-ups in the state. Adjusting for that, enrollment was down less than 1% year over year.

    Enrollment in the ACA exchanges held steady despite multiple obstacles, including the proliferation of short-term limited-duration health plans allowed under a 2018 federal rule. Those plans sidestep ACA protections for people with pre-existing conditions and don't have to cover essential health benefits.

    In recent years, the Trump administration also slashed the open enrollment budget for advertising and in-person assistance, while cutting the sign-up period in half. Pervasive confusion among Americans about the status of the healthcare exchanges amid repeated challenges to the ACA have also likely contributed to decreased enrollment.

    Even so, more new customers signed up for a plan this year. The number of new customers who bought a plan increased by about 2%, or 36,900 people, while the number of people renewing their coverage decreased 3%, or about 187,900 people.

    "Overcoming these obstacles means the marketplaces are more resilient than ever," Joshua Peck, co-founder of national campaign Get America Covered, wrote in a blog post Friday.

    Average premiums for 2020 silver plans on HealthCare.gov decreased about 4% from 2019. Most people who buy coverage on the exchanges receive federal financial assistance, which helps them afford their premiums. Those ineligible for a premium subsidy must shoulder the full monthly cost and high deductibles.

    "For all our successes, too many Americans who do not qualify for subsidies still cannot afford premiums that remain in the stratosphere—constituting a new class of uninsured," Verma said. "The Affordable Care Act remains fundamentally broken and nothing less than wholesale reforms can fix it."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    money arrows decrease down 2
    Bright Health ordered into liquidation by Texas court
    UnitedHealth_Group_AP_fullsize_i_i_i copy_i.png
    Executives detail UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health's growth plans
    Most Popular
    1
    Executives detail UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health's growth plans
    2
    Meet the 2023 Most Influential People in Healthcare
    3
    Staff shortages hit Medicare Advantage stars, Kaiser exec says
    4
    Honorees Announced - 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare
    5
    Bright Health ordered into liquidation by Texas court
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Finance Newsletter: Sign up to receive daily news and data that has a direct impact on the business and financing of healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women Leaders
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2024
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing