Access Health CT Preparing For Start Of Open Enrollment On Nov. 1

Oct. 19--With a truncated open enrollment period beginning in less than two weeks, Access Health CT is kicking its marketing efforts into high-gear, reminding people that the Affordable Care Act is still law, despite Republican attempts to repeal it.

Andrea Ravitz, the health insurance exchange's director of marketing, said customers will soon be hearing from the agency on 15 different platforms, including television commercials and billboards.

"You're going to see a lot of Access Health CT in the coming months," she said.

One challenge has been communicating to the nearly 100,000 people who buy insurance on the exchange that the uncertainty in Washington around the future of the Affordable Care Act will have little impact on their coverage next year.

Neither carrier that sells plans on the exchange has left. And the decision by the Trump administration to end key payments to insurers who sell Obamacare plans also have little effect because the state Insurance Department planned for that.

"While I'm extremely disappointed by the president's announcement eliminating federal funding to the insurance companies for cost-sharing reduction subsidies, this will not change the plans or rates offered through Access Health CT for 2018," said Jim Wadleigh, CEO of Access Health CT.

Wadleigh said that because Connecticut formed its own exchange after the Affordable Care Act was passed, the state won't be affected by cuts to the marketing budget and planned outages for HealthCare.Gov, the exchange used by states that didn't create their own.

One thing Access Health CT customers will see is rate hikes, and they're higher than in past years. Last month, the state Insurance Department approved an average rate increase of 31.7 percent for Anthem plans and 27.7 percent for plans sold by ConnectiCare.

Customers who receive tax credits to buy insurance will see those credits increase as premiums rise, but the estimated 26 percent of customers who make too much money to qualify for tax credits will be on the hook for the full cost of the higher rates.

"I do think that this is an area that we need to pay some real attention to," said Paul Philpott, a member of the agency's board of directors. "A lot of attention gets paid to the people that are getting subsidies ... but I really feel like the people that aren't getting much attention are the people" who don't qualify for tax credits, he said.

Open enrollment -- the period of time when customers can sign up for yearlong health insurance plans -- begins on Nov. 1 and ends on Dec. 22. The seven-week time frame is much shorter than usual. In previous years, open enrollment had been as long as four months.

In addition to its website, Access Health CT plans to have 10 locations across the state where people can sign up in-person as well as weekend enrollment fairs and a presence at various community events.

During a meeting of Access Health CT's board Thursday morning, Ravitz showed examples of a few of the new television ads the organization will be running that are specifically targeted toward millennials focusing on the value of keeping and having health insurance coverage. Access Health CT advertisements will also run before movies at local theaters.

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