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This year’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) Open Enrollment Period is outpacing all previous years, a historic high of more than 13.6 million people already enrolled in health insurance coverage for 2022 through HealthCare.gov and State-based Marketplaces (SBMs).
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) has made coverage more affordable and accessible for people across the country: 92% of people in HealthCare.gov states who signed up for plans through December 15, 2021, will receive premium tax credits for 2022 coverage.
Moreover, more than 400,000 people will receive tax credits for 2022 coverage, to date, that would have been inaccessible to them prior to the ARP. Since President Biden took office, more than 4.6 million Americans have newly gained health care coverage.
From the start of Open Enrollment through December 15, 2021, more than 9.7 million consumers enrolled in Marketplace coverage in the 33 states using HealthCare.gov for 2022. This is over 900,000 more people than the previous all-time high of 8.8 million who signed up during the 2018 Open Enrollment Period with 39 states using HealthCare.gov.
The 18 SBMs that use their own platforms reported to The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that through December 11 (week six), almost 3.9 million consumers selected plans or were automatically re-enrolled in a plan for 2022 health coverage. This is up from last year when SBMs reported that 3.4 million consumers made a plan selection in the 15 State-based Marketplaces for 2021, through week six.
“The historic 13.6 million people who have enrolled in a health insurance plan so far this period shows that the demand and need for affordable health care remains high,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Thanks to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, more people today have affordable coverage—and we aren’t finished yet: people still have time to sign-up and get covered before the January 15th deadline. This holiday season, let’s share the peace of mind that comes with having coverage.”
This Open Enrollment Period builds on the momentum of the 2021 Special Enrollment Period (SEP) – PDF. In 2021, between the Special Enrollment Period earlier this year and Open Enrollment, more than 4.6 million people across the country newly gained access to affordable health care coverage. That includes 3.7 million through HealthCare.gov and the more than 950,000 people who newly gained access to affordable health care coverage through the State-based Marketplaces during the Special Enrollment Period.
“The American Rescue Plan is working to get people across the country connected to health insurance coverage,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “Health coverage is more affordable than ever before and the great news is that people still have until January 15 to sign up. The pandemic has made the need for health care coverage clear and the Biden-Harris Administration has put it in reach of millions of people who previously did not have that peace of mind.”
Consumers still have time to enroll. The Biden-Harris Administration extended this year’s HealthCare.gov Open Enrollment Period until January 15, 2022, for coverage starting on February 1, 2022, giving consumers an extra month to enroll in affordable and comprehensive coverage.
