Initial ACA exchange signups set new record
The first few days of open enrollment on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges saw a record number of people signing up for coverage, according to The Hill.
On Nov. 1, the first day customers could select a plan on Healthcare.gov,. more than 200,000 people picked coverage for 2018, double the amount from last year. Overall traffic was also up, with more than one million people visiting the site compared to 750,000 in 2016.
The surge in signups was confirmed by an official from the Trump administration. Under the new president, CMS and HHS have cut back on enrollment efforts, including slashing the advertising budget for the ACA exchanges by 90 percent and reducing the open enrollment period from 90 days to 45.
Those moves, along with premium increases partially credited to uncertainty surrounding the ACA’s future, led S&P Global Ratings to estimate enrollment would drop by up to 13 percent for 2018.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.