Nearly 2.5 million enrolled in federal health plan exchange for 2015 to date
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Nearly 2.5 million individuals signed up for health insurance plans through the federal exchange during the first four weeks of the 2015 open enrollment, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported Tuesday.
Of the 2,466,562 individuals who selected exchange coverage between the start of the 2015 open enrollment season on Nov. 15 and Dec. 12, just over 40% — 1,082,879 — opted for coverage between Dec. 6 and Dec. 12.
Of those opting for coverage in the 37 states in which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services operates the exchanges, enrollees were closely divided between those selecting an exchange plan for the first time, at 48%, and those who renewed coverage, at 52%.
The tally of 2,466,562 individuals through Dec. 12 contrasts sharply with the anemic enrollment of a year ago when the federal exchange, as well as some state-run exchanges, experienced huge technological problems, including website crashes and long waits to talk to call center representatives
At the end of November 2013, for example, just 137,204 individuals had secured coverage through the federal exchange. By the end of December of last year, though, technology-related problems had eased, with enrollment in the federal exchange climbing to 1,196,430.
HHS also reported that its call center received more than 4 million calls from Nov. 15 through Dec. 12, with an average wait time of 5 minutes and 59 seconds.
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