HealthCare.gov Saw Almost 950,000 Sign Up After Open Enrollment

Almost 950,000 new customers selected health coverage on HealthCare.gov outside of the open-enrollment period, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (“HealthCare.gov Saw Almost 950,000 Sign Up After Open Enrollment,” The Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2015).

Nearly 85% of the people who selected a plan did so for one of three reasons, according to CMS. Half had lost their health insurance or access to minimal benefits required by law. Nearly 20% found out they were ineligible for Medicaid, the state-federal program for low-income people. And 15% obtained coverage during a tax season special enrollment period for people who learned they would have to pay a penalty for not having health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

The exchanges were previously expected to sign up 13 million people for 2015, according to an early April 2014 projection by the Congressional Budget Office that was later revised downward. The Obama administration said the target of 9.1 million to 9.9 million enrollees was based on early enrollment trends.