More than 218,000 Ohioans sign up for Obamacare
The Obama administration released numbers showing more than 218,000 Ohioans have signed up or renewed their coverage this year. (John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer)
More than 218,000 Ohioans have signed up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act this year following a last-minute burst of enrollment before last week's deadline, the Obama administration announced Tuesday.
Ohio ranks 12th nationally in its number of enrollees on healthcare.gov this year, according to a state-by-state breakdown released today by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Florida had the most new sign-ups, with more than 1.5 million.
December 17 was the deadline to sign up for coverage that will take effect on Jan. 1. Consumers can still enroll through Jan. 31 for plans that will take effect in February and March.
Today's tally of 218,047 enrollees in Ohio reflects a huge boost from two weeks ago, when only about 62,000 people had signed up for coverage. Local enrollment assisters said the uptick is evidence of strong demand for plans offered under the law.
Said Trey Daly, director of Ohio's chapter of Enroll America: "Today's announcement shows what we've been seeing on the ground across the state: Consumers want quality, affordable health coverage and when they learn they have new options under the Affordable Care Act, they are eager to enroll."
Federal Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Tuesday that more than 8.2 million Americans have signed up for health insurance this year or had their plans automatically renewed. That's a 28 percent increase from the same time last year.
Burwell said about 2.1 million of those enrollees are under the age of 35, a boost of about 1 million people from that age group a year ago.
"It means a younger risk pool, which contributes to a stronger more stable insurance market," Burwell said during a conference call with reporters and other stakeholders. "And it shows once again that the marketplace offers a service that Americans from all walks of life and age want and need."
Burwell offered an upbeat assessment of Obamacare's progress, but answered only three questions during the call. She did not address consumers' difficulties in affording high deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs associated with plans on the federal exchange.
In Cuyahoga County, the average deductible is about $3,561 for a silver-level plan on the exchange, according to a Plain Dealer analysis. The analysis was based on plans available to a 40-year-old male making about $30,000 a year, just above the income limit to qualify for Obamacare's cost-sharing subsidies.
The analysis showed that 94 plans were available to that individual, reflecting participation by several insurers. But one insurer, HealthSpan, has said it will stop pursuing new business through the exchange at year's end due to concerns about the financial performance of its plans.
Burwell said, however, that demand for Obamacare plans remain strong nationwide and that the government experienced an unprecedented burst of enrollment last week, signing up nearly 600,000 on Dec. 15 alone.
"We have never seen this level of activity at the call center or on healthcare.gov before," Burwell said. " This engagement is exactly what we want to see."