Florida Obamacare enrollments at record pace amid post-Obama uncertainty

Jan. 06--As the Jan. 20 inauguration of Donald Trump draws nigh, Obamacare consumers in Florida are signing up for 2017 health insurance plans faster than ever.

That might be due, at least in part, to concerns about promises by Trump and the Republican-led Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act as soon as Trump takes office, one expert said Thursday.

In Florida, 1,641,714 consumers signed up for an individual health insurance plan on HealthCare.gov through the first nine weeks of Open Enrollment, according to data released this week by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. During the same period last year, 1,569,551 Floridians signed up.

By last year's Jan. 31 deadline, a record 1,742,819 Floridians signed up, and this year's enrollment pace is on track to exceed that number -- if the enrollment period doesn't end early.

With so much uncertainty looming about what Trump and Congress plan to do on Jan. 20, some consumers might be looking to get locked in early, said Cynthia Cox, associate director for the Program for the Study of Health Reform and Private Insurance at the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation.

Some might be worried that Trump will take office and work with Congress to immediately cancel the remainder of the Open Enrollment period now scheduled to end on Jan. 31, she said.

"If that's people's perception, they might be trying to sign up sooner rather than later," Cox said.

Since reconvening this week, the debate in Congress has focused on whether the ACA should be repealed and replaced immediately after Trump takes office or repealed with a sunset clause to give lawmakers time to come up with a plan that could be approved with a 60-vote filibuster-proof Senate majority. That strategy would require support from at least eight Democrats in the Senate.

Either way, most experts believe the federal government won't act to disrupt 2017 enrollments, Cox said, which would delay effects of any changes until after 2017.

This year's Week 9 total includes 596,120 enrollments in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market, and 183,605 in the West Palm Beach-Fort Pierce market. Tallies for local markets were not created in previous years, so comparisons were not available.

rhurtibise@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4071

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