Obamacare enrollment: more women than men, fewer young consumers

Jan. 10--With Congress poised to begin a fast-track repeal of the Affordable Care Act this week, and the Jan. 31 deadline approaching for consumers to enroll in a plan, the Obama administration on Tuesday reported, for the first time, the ages, ethnicity and genders of the 11.5 million Americans who have signed up for 2017 coverage under the law better known as Obamacare.

More than 11.5 million consumers have signed up for coverage in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to the report. In Florida, more than 1.6 million people had signed up for an Obamacare plan through Dec. 24 -- more than any of the 39 states using healthcare.gov -- including 891,939 females and 742,675 males.

Among those Florida consumers, 111,322 are children younger than 18; 431,771 are adults 18- to 34-years-old; 652,605 are adults 35- to 54-years-old; and 438,916 are older than 55.

When race and ethnicity is reported, whites far outnumber every other group among Floridians who have signed up for Obamacare coverage for this year, with 439,641 consumers identified as Caucasians, 308,767 Latinos, 117,185 African-Americans and 60,002 Asians.

Among all Floridians who have signed up for an ACA plan this enrollment period, 416,327 are new consumers and 44,553 are categorized as "rural Floridians".

As in past years, younger adults have not signed up for ACA plans at the rate that advocates and proponents of the health law had hoped.

Among the 11.5 million Americans who have signed up for coverage on healthcare.gov, about 2.3 million -- roughly 26 percent, according to HHS -- are between the ages of 18- and 34-years-old. In Florida, adults 18- to 34-years-old make up only 26 percent of the total.

Young adults are key to the success of the ACA insurance exchange, health economists say, because young people tend to be healthier, which helps spread the financial risk of coverage.

And because the ACA restricts how insurers price their coverage -- premiums for the oldest consumers can be only three times the amount charged to the youngest consumers -- older adults on average pay premiums that do not fully cover their expected medical expenses while younger adults pay premiums that more than cover their expenses.

If enrollment among young adults falls short, then insurers are more likely to raise premiums to make up for the loss.

___

(c)2017 Miami Herald

Visit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.