Despite uncertain future, Pennsylvanians continue to enroll in Affordable Care Act plans

Beaver County Times (PA)

Jan. 12--Despite ongoing debates about the future of the Affordable Care Act, 21 percent of Pennsylvanians who applied for 2017 marketplace health insurance between Nov. 1 and Christmas Eve were new consumers, according to new data released from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

There were 415,589 individuals in Pennsylvania and 11.5 million across the country who made 2017 marketplace plan selections as of Dec. 24. Nationwide, that's around 300,000 more people than who signed up during the same period last year.

"We're particularly pleased to see enrollment growth this year despite significant headwinds," said Christen Linke Young, a senior official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "It's no secret that opponents of the (Affordable Care Act) are talking about going down a dangerous path of taking coverage away from people with no plan to replace it.

"And while we're on track for our growing marketplace, more than 35,000 people have contacted our call center, wondering whether they should still sign up for coverage given the current environment. Without hesitation, our answer to those people is yes," Young said.

Open enrollment continues through the end of January. Those who sign up on healthcare.gov by Sunday will have coverage beginning Feb. 1.

Among Pennsylvanians who signed up for coverage, 78 percent were eligible for financial assistance via Advanced Premium Tax Credits, receiving an average of $429.27 per month.

The most popular age group to apply for marketplace coverage in Pennsylvania were those ages 55 to 64, making up 33 percent of applicants. One-fourth of Pennsylvania marketplace consumers were ages 18 to 34.

And more than 80 percent of consumers selected the Silver Plan, the third level of the four tiers of health-care coverage options.

"The data today paints a rich picture of 11.5 million as tens of millions of people whose futures will be affected by current health care debates," said Aviva Aron-Dine, another senior official with the federal health department. "... Repeal and delay leaves our entire health-care system poised on the edge of a cliff, and the default outcome is that we plunge over it."

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