‘Obamacare’ enrollments are soaring by record numbers

As of last week, more than 20 million people have enrolled in health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, far exceeding last year's record of 16 million enrollments.

That is roughly 8 million more than when President Joe Biden took office in 2021. This also includes individuals who have bought insurance through state-based marketplaces or the HealthCare.gov website. These figures underscored the importance of enhanced subsidies for Americans and the continued reach of the marketplaces despite Republican efforts over the years to shrink them.

“The Affordable Care Act is more popular than ever, and Affordable Care Act coverage is more affordable than ever. Thanks to efforts by my Administration, millions of Americans are saving hundreds or thousands of dollars each year on health insurance premiums, and most people who shop for coverage at HealthCare.gov can find a plan for $10 a month or less,” Biden said in a statement.

In 2022, the Senate had also passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided a three- year extension all the way through 2025 of enhanced subsidies for people buying their own health coverage on the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces. Despite subsidies, premium payments would have been more than 50 percent higher on average in the roughly 30 states that use HealthCare.gov.

“Millions of Americans signing up for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act is good news. It means more Americans have the peace of mind of knowing that going to the doctor won't empty their bank account,” said Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-Harris Administration will continue working to expand health care coverage and lower prescription drug costs, so taking care of your health is not a luxury.”

Increased enrollment might be attributed to millions of Americans losing Medicaid, a government health insurance program for adults and children with low-income. In 2020, the country was declared out of the pandemic's emergency phase by the federal government. Since states couldn't delist people when the government issued its two COVID-19 pandemic emergencies, nearly 95 million people received Medicaid coverage through the end of March 2023, according to nonprofit KFF. In addition, states received additional federal funding to ensure continuous Medicaid coverage during COVID-19.

After the end of the emergency, in May of last year states began reviewing their Medicaid rolls and requesting people to prove they still qualify for government coverage. As of December 20, there were more than 13.3 million Medicaid enrollees who had been removed from the program, according to KFF. Because state data is lagging, the nonprofit believes that this is actually an undercount.

The administration encourages all families to visit HealthCare.gov and check out the health care coverage options and savings available to them. It is recommended that people with current coverage through HealthCare.gov shop around to see if another plan meets their needs more efficiently.

“As too many Americans know: access to quality, affordable health care can mean the difference between life and death, and hope and fear. That’s why I will continue fighting to bring down health care and prescription drug costs. I encourage Americans to visit HealthCare.gov before January 16 to sign up for health coverage this year,” Biden said in the same statement.

According to the Department of Health & Human Services it is expected that more than 19 million will enroll by the deadline of January 17, 2024. State-specific deadlines and other information are available in the State-based Marketplace Open Enrollment Fact Sheet - PDF. Individuals who want to enroll in a Covered California plan have until January 31 of this month.

L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan available for low-income individuals currently serves more than 2.9 million Angelenos. L.A. Care started in 1997 to provide Medi-Cal coverage in Los Angeles County. The majority of their members are still covered by Medi-Cal.

When the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, each of the 50 states had to decide to either create a state-run health insurance exchange or offer enrollment through a federally-operated exchange. California then decided to create their own exchange and called it “Covered California”.

L.A. Care decided to join California’s ACA exchange, and since then, L.A. Care has had the lowest priced health plans in the past three years. As it’s a publicly operated plan this is what allows L.A. Care to have affordable rates in Los Angeles County only. L.A. Care Covered members receive a subsidy to help with their premiums.

“We joined the exchange to provide consistency for members who sometimes fall out of Medi-Cal because their income increases; being in the exchange allows them to join another L.A. Care plan (L.A. Care Covered) so they can keep their same doctors, and do so at an affordable rate," said Penny Griego, media relations specialist for L.A. Care. “Up until this year, we were the only publicly operated plan in the California exchange, which made us a true public option.”

CALÓ News also spoke with Cristina Inglese, executive director of commercial products at L.A. Care Health Plan. She said that at L.A. Care, the goal is to always give LA County residents the most affordable options.

“Barriers to coverage often cost, so we make sure that our plan design is the most affordable and we do a lot of media and marketing. We welcome people to our community resource centers where they can explain how easy it is to enroll,” Inglese said.

She also explained the second barrier that people often face is not knowing when or where to start looking for a plan. “We do our own independent marketing to make sure that people are aware of our open enrollment season,” she said. “Right now it is the time when people can select their plan design and see what is important to them and their families.”

In addition to L.A. Care supporting individuals' path to wellness, they also offer the largest HMO network in their region and partner with providers such as UCLA Health and Optum. L.A. Care members can also expect many choice options through their extensive network of expert physicians and specialists conveniently located throughout Los Angeles County.

Each of their plans offer comprehensive benefits such as virtual care, convenient care, nurse advice line, community resources, community links and many more at $0 preventive services to help individuals achieve their health goals.

L.A. Care also offers different plans that vary by its monthly premium amount and out-of-pocket costs when services are used.

Inglese said that L.A. Care understands the type of member that they are trying to cover with their L.A care product and often normal business hours are not conducive to those individuals. In order to help those look for a plan, they are currently extending the hours at some of their community resource centers.

“We are not open everyday so I recommend that people check our schedules and we are even opening up some Saturdays only in January so that again we can help walk people through our plans.” Inglese said.

To apply for L.A. Care Covered you can click here. To speak with one of their representatives to help with the application process you call at 1-855-222-4239.