Health Insurance Exchange Open Enrollment December 15 Deadline final two days – Here are the 3 Things Consumers Need to Know
The HealthCare.gov Open Enrollment Period runs from Nov. 1, 2018, to Dec. 15, 2018, for coverage starting on Jan. 1, 2019. Whether you are new to the HealthCare.gov Exchange or returning, we want to make sure consumers who want coverage through the Exchange are aware of the upcoming deadline so they don’t miss the opportunity to sign up for 2019 coverage.
The focus for this year, as it was for last year, is to provide a seamless Open Enrollment experience for HealthCare.gov consumers. We’ve made important improvements to customer service this year. We streamlined the application to simplify the process for consumers, improved content and help information to make it easier for people to understand and worked to deliver better customer service. The website has performed optimally, consumers have been able to easily access enrollment tools to compare plans and prices, and the call center consumer satisfaction rate has remained at 90 percent.
Since Open Enrollment began on Nov. 1, 4.1 million consumers have selected a plan in the Federally Facilitated Exchange.
As we approach the Dec. 15 deadline, here are the 3 things consumers need to know:
1. The deadline to sign up for coverage is Dec. 15, 2018.
Consumers have until Dec. 15 to sign up for coverage that starts on Jan. 1, 2019. Consumers who do not enroll by the Dec. 15 deadline can’t get 2019 coverage unless they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Consumers can visit HealthCare.gov and CuidadodeSalud.gov to preview 2019 plans and prices and sign up for coverage today.
2. Now is the time consumers to go to HealthCare.gov or CuidadodeSalud.gov to update their information or add it for the first time, and select the plan that best meets their needs.
We are encouraging consumers who need health insurance to join the millions of people who have gone to HealthCare.gov and found health insurance. The plans on HealthCare.gov are comprehensive and offer:
· Annual Checkups at no extra cost; and
· Coverage of doctor visits, prescription drugs, and certain preventive care with no out-of-pocket costs.
3. Nationally, average premiums have decreased and the number of plans have increased on the Federal Exchange for 2019.
For the very first time since Healthcare.gov started offering coverage, average premium rates for a benchmark silver plan in 2019 have gone down across the 39 states that use the federal platform. Consumers have more plans to choose from to find the best fit for themselves. There are23 more issuers on the federal Exchanges for 2019 than there were in 2018. And, 29 issuers are expanding their service area into new counties. Consumers should come back to HealthCare.gov to compare plans and prices, they may be able to find a plan that saves them money and better meets their health needs.
Help is available! Consumers can get help filling out their application in 3 ways:
· By phone. Consumers can call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). Available every day, except certain holidays.
· In-person help. Consumers can use the Find Local Help tool on HealthCare.gov to see if they can get in-person help in their community.
· Health insurance agents & brokers. Agents and Brokers can help consumers enroll through the Exchange or handle the whole process. Search for health insurance agents and brokers using the Find Local Help tool.
Here are some of the outreach efforts CMS has conducted since Open Enrollment began on November 1:
· CMS has sent over 600 million emails and text messages to consumers to remind them of the 2019 Open Enrollment Period and the upcoming deadline. By the end of Open Enrollment, we expect to have sent more than 700 million emails and text messages to consumers across the country.
· CMS and HHS national and ten regional offices have reached out to over 4 thousand national and local television, radio and print media, including Spanish language media outlets.
· The Call Center has received a total of 4.2 million calls and the call center consumer satisfaction rate has remained at 90 percent.
· CMS has sent more than 3.2 million outreach emails to help Navigators, Certified Application Counselors, agents and brokers who assistHealthCare.gov consumers with enrollment.
· Both the CMS Administrator and HHS Secretary have conducted earned media encouraging people to enroll and social media outreach.
· Here are some of other the resources on HealthCare.gov where consumers can find information on how to sign up for coverage by phone and mail.
¾ Contact Us: https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/
¾ Get help applying for health insurance: https://www.healthcare.gov/apply-and-enroll/get-help-applying/
