102K Missourians in line for ACA health coverage

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today reported 102,087 Missourians have signed up for health insurance plans through the marketplace set up by the Affordable Care Act.

The 2015 open enrollment period launched Dec. 15 for coverage starting Jan. 1. Individuals have until Feb. 15 to enroll at HealthCare.gov, according to an HHS news release.

Roughly 89 percent of Missourians who selected plans during the first month of open enrollment were eligible a subsidy, compared to 80 percent during the same period last year.

The data also show 50 percent of those who selected a plan in the Show-Me State were re-enrolling, while the other half were first-timers.

“The vast majority were able to lower their costs even further by getting tax credits, making a difference in the bottom lines of so many families,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in the release. “Interest in the marketplace has been strong during the first month of open enrollment.”

Burwell indicated additional work is needed to get others in the 37 states that use HealthCare.gov - including Missouri - to sign up by the Feb. 15 deadline.

Nationally, over 4 million people signed up for the first time or re-enrolled for health plans on the marketplace during the first month of open enrollment, according to the release.