1,300 NH residents sign up for Healthcare Insurance on the Exchange in November
Josh Elliott-Traficante
December 2013
The latest data released by the Department of Health and Human Services showed that a total of 1,300 New Hampshire residents have selected a health insurance plan through the federal exchange during the month of November. Since open enrollment began on October 1, a total of 1,529 have signed up.
A total of 8,763 applications have been received by the federal exchange to cover a total of 17,234 individuals.
It is interesting to note that of the 12,768 that have been determined to be eligible to enroll in exchange provided insurance plans, only 4,927 qualify for subsidies, roughly 38.5% of the total.
The balance, 7,841 individuals, (61.5%), do not qualify for any assistance. There are two categories of people this might fall into: either people who have had their insurance policies canceled due to the law itself, or people who did not have insurance and though had the resources to buy it, did not.
The end result is that though Obamacare was designed to improve access to affordable healthcare, the majority of New Hampshire residents buying health insurance through the exchanges likely doing so either because their existing plan was canceled, or because they did not want to have insurance and are now required to have it.
All of these numbers stand in contrast to the nearly 22,000 who will lose coverage because their existing plans were not compatible with the new law. Though they were granted a temporary reprieve, the policies are still due to be canceled.
Link to full report from DHHS: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2013/MarketPlaceEnrollment/Dec2013/ib_2013dec_enrollment.pdf
Good thing we did not spend a ton of money on a state web site. How many of the 1,300 will receive Medicaid subsidy?
Thanks for the question! The 1,300 are just those who picked plans and DHHS does not break out who gets a subsidy.
However, they do collect data that data on those who are eligible to buy a plan on the exchange (ie, those who don’t qualify for Medicaid).
Of the people determined eligible to buy plans on the exchange, roughly 40% qualify for subsidies. Using that number, I would estimate it to be in the neighborhood of 520 or so.