Florida Leads States In ACA Enrollment For 2018

Dec. 22--Sign-ups for Affordable Care Act plans on the federal insurance exchange at healthcare.gov were only slightly lower than last year despite consumers having fewer days to enroll this year and a dearth of marketing and other support from the Trump administration.

Federal regulators reported Thursday that about 8.8 million consumers selected an ACA plan for 2018 through healthcare.gov -- down from 9.2 million this year. Those enrollment numbers do not include consumers who have signed up through state-based exchanges in 11 states and Washington, D.C.

Plan selections on healthcare.gov surged during the final week, as 4.1 million consumers signed up for 2018 coverage despite rising premiums and continued uncertainty about the future of the health law commonly known as Obamacare.

Florida once again led the 39 states using the federal exchange, with 1.7 million consumers selecting a plan during the open enrollment period that began Nov. 1 and closed on Dec. 15. That's about the same number of Floridians who signed up for an ACA plan on healthcare.gov for 2017.

But enrollment may rise in Florida because most residents will be eligible for a deadline extension to Dec. 31 due to Hurricane Irma.

A special enrollment period for Floridians kicked in after the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared all of the state's 67 counties eligible for assistance as a result of Irma, which made landfall in South Florida on Sept. 10.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers healthcare.gov, then announced a special enrollment period giving Floridians extra time to buy insurance.

Follow Daniel Chang on Twitter: @dchangmiami

___

(c)2017 Miami Herald

Visit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.