Week 3: Another record breaking week for HealthCare.gov: Nearly 2.4 million have already signed-up
Today, in HealthCare.gov’s latest Weekly Enrollment Snapshot, CMS announced that over 2,380,527 million people have already signed up for 2021 health coverage. This includes 521,272 new enrollment and 1,859,255 active renewals. This is the second week in a row where enrollment has set records. It is also the first week that CMS has released a breakout of state enrollment data.
During Week 3, 758,421 people signed up for coverage — higher than any previous “Week 3” after factoring in the States that are no longer reporting enrollment numbers in the Weekly Enrollment Snapshot (NJ, NV, and PA). Comparing the daily average of sign-ups, this year to last year 16% more people are signing up every day. Prior to this year, the best Week 3 ever was the 2017 Open Enrollment Period when 798,829 people enrolled. If you remove states that now report independently, the equivalent number of people who enrolled was roughly 730,000.
The number of people actively renewing, people with 2020 coverage returning to actively select their health plan for 2021, has been especially high so far this year and a key driver in the record setting enrollment numbers. Active renewal may be higher this year compared to past years due to heightened anxiety about the pandemic. Active renewal is important because historically people who actively renew coverage are more likely to pay lower premiums and to retain their coverage during the coming year.
The number of people who are enrolling in coverage who didn’t have it prior to the start of Open Enrollment is similar to what we’ve seen in past years. As we said before the start of Open Enrollment, tighter budgets and uncertainty about future income are key factors weighing on consumers despite the widespread belief that coverage is more important this year because of COVID-19. The low level of awareness due to lack of outreach from CMS and lack of assistance for people enrolling are making matters worse — as millions of people who’ve lost coverage for the first time are unaware of the affordable health coverage options available to them.
With reporting on three full weeks of enrollment, we’re seeing the beginning of trends for this year. Active renewal is higher than normal and new enrollment is relatively steady compared to past years. These trends can of course change. Another key factor for us to consider this year is whether or not retention of existing consumers will be different than past years due to COVID-19.
State by State Sign-ups
This is the first week that CMS has released a breakout of sign-up data for states that use HealthCare.gov platform. Comparing the first 21 days of Open Enrollment for OE8 to the first 16 days of OE7, it is not surprising that total numbers are up across the board. We expect an increase of roughly 31% given the difference in the number of days.
The following states are up over 50% compared to the same report last year: North Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Georgia, Delaware, New Mexico, South Carolina, Florida, South Dakota, Wyoming, Hawaii, and Alabama. Just two states, Louisiana and Kentucky, are trailing compared to the same point last year.
