Healthcare plan enrollment surges in some states after rocky rollout

[mota bhai 2,675]

WASHINGTON — Despite the disastrous rollout of the federal government's healthcare website, enrollment is surging in many states as tens of thousands of consumers sign up for insurance plans made available by President Obama's health law.

A number of states that use their own systems, including California, are on track to hit enrollment targets for 2014 because of a sharp increase in November, according to state officials.

"What we are seeing is incredible momentum," said Peter Lee, director of Covered California, the nation's largest state insurance marketplace, which accounted for a third of all enrollments nationally in October. California — which enrolled about 31,000 people in health plans last month — nearly doubled that in the first two weeks of this month.

Several other states, including Connecticut and Kentucky, are outpacing their enrollment estimates, even as states that depend on the federal website lag far behind. In Minnesota, enrollment in the second half of October ran at triple the rate of the first half, officials said.

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In addition to better-functioning websites, many states that are running their own marketplaces also have significantly more resources to help consumers sign up for coverage.

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In New York, enrollment has continued at roughly October's rate and stands at 24,509, according to state officials.

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With fixes still being made to the federal website, it is unclear whether enrollment will catch up everywhere.

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Enrollment has been even stronger in many Medicaid programs.

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Nationwide, nearly 400,000 new people qualified for Medicaid coverage in October, according to federal data. In Oregon ... the state reported that it had already signed up 70,000 new people for Medicaid.

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Many state officials say they think the biggest enrollment surge will take place after Thanksgiving. Consumers face a Dec. 15 deadline to sign up if coverage is to be effective Jan. 1.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obamacare-increase-20131119,0,6410053,full.story

Edited November 19, 2013 by amriki bhai