Almost 4,000 Virginians enrolled in health insurance plans in November

By Michael Martz | Richmond

　

The activity in the program's second month quadrupled the number of October's enrollees.

Almost 4,000 Virginians enrolled in health insurance plans through the new federal marketplace last month, quadrupling the number of enrollees during the troubled rollout of the electronic exchange in October.

But the 4,946 people who had selected insurance plans on the exchange in its first two months of operation remain far short of the 100,000 estimated two years ago by Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Virginia Health Reform Initiative.

And that’s OK, according to a Virginia insurance representative who urged realistic expectations in the marketplace’s inaugural year.

"You can’t expect more than 25 percent in the first year," said Doug Gray, executive director of the Virginia Association of Health Plans. "It just isn’t going to happen."

With less than two weeks for people to enroll for coverage to begin Jan. 1, health care advocates say the federal website for enrolling people in Virginia and 35 other states has vastly improved since October, when the marketplace enrolled just 1,023 people here.

But the process of enrolling people in health plans continues to lag behind the level of public interest and the number of people who are found eligible, especially in states, such as Virginia, that are served by the federal marketplace.

Nationally, almost 260,000 people signed up for coverage in November through the federal and state-based marketplaces, bringing the two-month total to almost 365,000 people, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday.

McDonnell chose to default to the federal exchange in Virginia, although he and the General Assembly agreed this year to give the State Corporation Commission authority to certify health plans for the exchange under the terms of the Affordable Care Act and new state insurance law.

Among states served by the federal exchange, Florida leads the way, with 17,908 people enrolled, followed by Texas at 14,038 and Pennsylvania at 11,788. North Carolina outpaces Virginia with 8,970 enrolled, but just 775 had selected plans in West Virginia.

The numbers could improve significantly by Dec. 23, the deadline for having insurance coverage Jan. 1. Enrollment will remain open through March 31, with insurance coverage taking effect no later than May 1.

Source: Times-Dispatch