The deadline to sign up for health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s Insurance Marketplace is Feb. 15. As of Jan. 9, more than 434,000 people in North Carolina have signed up for health insurance coverage, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) reports. That total reflects those who enrolled in 2014 and reenrolled this year as well as new enrollees who were not insured last year through the federal insurance marketplace.
To help patients who may be looking for insurance coverage keep in mind these facts provided by HHS:
- Open Enrollment runs through February 15, 2015. Visit HealthCare.gov to sign up. After the Feb. 15 deadline, people can enroll only under special circumstances, such as the loss of a job or marriage.
- Nationally this year, there are 25 percent more health insurance issuers competing in the Marketplace for enrollees.
- Financial help is available. Eight out of 10 people can find coverage for $100 or less a month with tax credits through the Marketplace. And 87 percent of people who selected 2015 plans through HealthCare.gov in the first month of Open Enrollment got financial assistance to help lower the cost of premiums.
- Last year’s technological glitches have been fixed. HHS has been working to make the consumer experience at HealthCare.gov simpler, faster, and more intuitive.
Last year more than 357,000 enrolled in the state, and 91 percent qualified for federal subsidies. North Carolina had the nation’s fifth-highest enrollment total in 2014. Nationwide as much as 20 percent of initial enrollees don’t make a payment and remain uninsured.