R.I. sees spike in number of people enrolling in state’s health insurance exchange
About 640 people have signed up for coverage under the state's health insurance exchange during the first seven days of enrollment. That dwarfs the 126 people who signed up during the same time frame last year, according to data provided by HealthSource RI.
Advocates of the Affordable Care Act expressed concern that repeated attempts to repeal the federal law combined with President
HealthSource RI Executive Director
"The message that we really wanted to put out is that we're still here. We work for you. You will have access to affordable coverage in 2018," Sherman said.
That's afforded the state significantly more flexibility during open enrollment, Sherman said. For instance, HealthSource RI has extended open enrollment to
Significant cuts have also been made to federal advertising for Obamacare. HealthSource RI, however, is maintaining the same level of marketing as in previous years, Sherman said.
The state's exchange still has been affected by the elimination of cost-sharing-reduction payments, which helped offset the cost of insurance for low-income individuals. Last month, the
"The president's decision to end these payments has already created unnecessary turmoil and threatened the stability of our health insurance market," state Health Insurance Commissioner
Usually "gold" plans, have the highest monthly premiums but the lowest out-of-pocket costs. But now as insurers increased premiums to deal with subsidy losses in some cases "silver" plans, have higher monthly premiums than "gold" plans.
In light of the confusing landscape, HealthSource RI is encouraging all customers to reevaluate whether they are in the right plan. A new comparison tool is available online for customers at www.healthsourceri.com/calculator.
In all, 25,853 Rhode Islanders -- renewals combined with new sign-ups -- are enrolled for HealthSource RI coverage in 2018. The state expected to see just under 30,000 people in HealthSource RI plans for 2018. With the accelerated early sign-ups, those projections might be exceeded.
Typically, the first people who sign up for health insurance are those who access the most medical care. Younger and healthier individuals tend to wait longer to sign up.
Enrollment events offering help signing up for or renewing coverage through HealthSource RI
Important dates
Rhode Islanders have until
For more information
Call HealthSource RI at 1-855-840-4774
(401) 277-7493
On Twitter: @JenniferBogdan
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