More than 21 million Americans buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and open enrollment for next year’s Obamacare plans started Friday, Nov. 1.
People can shop for plans on Healthcare.gov, or their state-based marketplaces from Georgia Access to Covered California.
This year, premiums are still very affordable — for many people, premiums are $10 or less per month — and there are more plan options than ever. “I think this is really reflecting a turnaround in the ACA marketplaces,” says Cynthia Cox, who directs the Program on the Affordable Care Act for KFF, a nonpartisan health research organization.
Those low premiums and numerous plan options have spurred record high enrollment in ACA plans.
Most Americans get their insurance through their jobs or through a public program like Medicaid or Medicare. But still, this program has a big impact. As enrollment in the marketplaces set new records in the last few years, the number of uninsured Americans has dropped dramatically.
“Under President Biden and Vice President Harris, more Americans have access to a doctor, a hospital through their own health insurance than ever in the history of the country,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra tells NPR. After this year’s open enrollment, he adds, “I have no doubt that we’ll see another record set of Americans who have health care coverage.”
But this could be the high watermark for enrollment in these plans, depending on who is elected president and whether the next Congress acts to keep extra federal subsidies, which have made the health plans so affordable.
What’s new this year
One group…
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