As of December 1, a combined total of 32 million people had enrolled for 2019 health insurance from the 39 states participating in the healthcare.gov platform. This total is down by 11 percent when compared to the same time in 2017.
Last year over two thirds of Americans who enrolled in Obamacare plans purchased from the marketplace signed up in the last two weeks of the enrollment season. It appears to be a growing tradition for the vast majority of the sign-ups to occur close to the end of the open enrollment period.
The Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a poll from which the results showed that about 70 percent of Americans don’t know that the enrollment deadline this year is December 15.
In general
, most health insurance exchanges report that enrollments this year are lower than last year. Yet at least one enrollment firm reports that enrollments have increased this season. It appears that firms with more technologically advanced platforms hold an advantage in recruiting new health plan members. Freedom Benefits notices that access to live enrollment support at the point of enrollment, either by telephone or online, also has a positive impact on enrollments.Enrollment for the supplemental and alternate plans listed on FreedomBenefits.net remains open year-round. Some but not all of thee plans are available ithout regard to serious medical history. None of these plans provides the same level of coverage for pre-existing medical conditions as the plans from the government’s Health Insurance Marketplace.