New York: 2018 Open Enrollment breaks last year's numbers w/2 weeks left to go!

No official link or press release yet, but This Just In from Politico NY's Dan Goldberg...

.@charles_gaba new numbers from NY

243,600 -- qhp surpassing last year's
726,300 in the Essential Plan

— Dan Goldberg (@DanCGoldberg) January 18, 2018

Last year, New York State of Health enrolled a total of 242,880 people in ACA exchange policies; this means they're slightly ahead of that number with two weeks left to go before the January 31st Open Enrollment deadline. This makes NY the fifteenth state to surpass last year's total...as well as the 7th State-based Marketplace (or the 10th if you include SBMs which are piggybacking on the federal exchange platform). I'll be writing something up about that later today.

The Essential Plan enrollment is also higher than last year, which makes the QHP (Qualified Health Plan) enrollment even more impressive, since EPs tend to cannibalize QHP enrollment. Between New York and Minnesota, there's now around 820,000 people enrolled in the ACA's Basic Health Program, although there's a major funding crisis for BHPs thanks to Trump cutting off CSR reimbursements last fall.

Whoops! Never mind, Goldberg also provided the link (oddly, it's from the NY Dept. of Health, not NYSoH itself):

NY State of Health 2018 Enrollment Continues to Exceed 2017 Levels

Don't Delay: Deadline to Enroll is January 31st

Customer Service Center Hours Extended Before Deadline

ALBANY, N.Y. (January 18, 2018) - NY State of Health, the state's official health plan Marketplace, today announced that enrollment for 2018 continues to outpace enrollment from 2017. Higher enrollment shows ongoing consumer demand for the affordable, quality health plans offered by the Marketplace.

Enrollment Highlights as of January 16, 2018:

• 243,600 consumers have enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan (QHP), reflecting an increase of nearly 15,000 since last reported in mid-December and exceeding enrollment levels at the end of open enrollment in 2017.

• Among the QHP enrollees, 54,700 are new and 188,900 are returning customers.

• Enrollment in the popular Essential Plan for lower income New Yorkers reached 726,300, reflecting an increase of more than 10,000 people since last reported in mid-December.

"New Yorkers need and want affordable coverage; that's clear from ongoing increases in the number of people buying health plans through the Marketplace," said NY State of Health Executive Director Donna Frescatore. "With the January 31st deadline approaching, anyone who needs health coverage for 2018 should enroll now."

NY State of Health's advertising and outreach efforts will increase in the last few weeks of January to ensure that New Yorkers know about the upcoming enrollment deadline. This will include an increase in paid advertising, targeted email reminders to consumers, and participation in more than 85 events across the state.

The NY State of Health website and Customer Service Center continue to experience high traffic and volume. The Customer Service Center received nearly 1.5 million calls between November 1st and January 16th. Similarly, the NY State of Health website had more than 1.6 million unique visitors who collectively viewed over 86 million web pages since November 1st. Website and call volumes are expected to increase as the January 31st deadline approaches. Enrollment across Marketplace programs is expected to increase accordingly in these final two weeks.

Consumers can enroll in a health plan:

• Online at nystateofhealth.ny.gov
• By calling the Customer Service Center at 1-855-355-5777which is open:
  • Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  • Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Extended hours on: Saturday, January 27, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• With the help of an in-person assistor. Find one here.

Enrollment in a Qualified Health Plan continues through January 31, 2018. After that date, individuals can enroll in a Qualified Health Plan only if they have a life event such as loss of coverage, marriage or birth of a child that qualifies them for a Special Enrollment Period.Enrollment in Medicaid, Child Health Plus and the Essential Plan continues throughout the year.