+ Regulatory
Jamie Barrand | Oct 20, 2015

10 million expected to have Marketplace health care coverage at end of 2016

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials said Thursday their goal is to sign up at least 1 of every 4 uninsured consumers who are eligible for health care coverage.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said by the end of 2016, she expects 10 million American's to be enrolled - and paying their premiums - in coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace.

The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) recently released a demographic analysis of the uninsured individuals who are likely eligible for Marketplace coverage as well as a plan for estimating the number of individuals the department expects to have signed up for Marketplace coverage at the end of 2016.

“We believe 10 million is a strong and realistic goal,” Burwell said. “We’ve seen high levels of satisfaction with the Marketplace and expect the vast majority of our current customers will re-enroll. And our target assumes that more than 1 out of every 4 of the eligible uninsured will select plans. We are working hard to improve the customer experience with upgrades to our site and more tools to help people find what they are looking for. We want to make it easier for consumers to find the right plan at the right price.”

Other information released by HHS indicated almost half of the uninsured are between the ages of 18 and 34; approximately 40 percent of the uninsured are earning between 139 and 250 percent of the poverty level and almost 8 in 10 have an income that may qualify them for financial assistance;and the uninsured have concerns about whether they can afford coverage. 

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