Affordable Care Act signups steady despite changes, come close to 2017 numbers

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (PA)

Dec. 22--About 397,000 Pennsylvanians signed up for health care plans for 2018 on the Affordable Care Act's marketplace, coming close to the number of signups for 2017 despite a shortened enrollment period and last-minute regulatory changes.

The open enrollment period for the plans ran from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15, about half the length of last year's open enrollment.

"It's a testament to the public's desire for this health coverage," Acting Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman said in a news release. "Pennsylvanians want and deserve affordable health coverage and it's clear that Affordable Care Act continues to provide it for consumers."

About 426,000 people signed up for the plans during last year's open enrollment period. About 363,000 of them still had the plans a few months later.

The Trump Administration changed the way the federal government pays insurers for the plans shortly before this year's enrollment period started. The government is no longer paying insurers to cover costs of providing certain benefits for policyholders with the lowest incomes, such as lower deductibles and smaller doctor's bills, but many common plans ended up costing about the same for policyholders due to the structure of income-based subsidies.

The administration also cut funding for enrollment specialists who helped people sign up for plans, a reduction that hit other states harder than Pennsylvania.