HUNTINGTON — West Virginians enrolled in the Affordable Care Act in record numbers this year, in line with a nationwide trend.
“There were 28,325 enrollments in 2023, which is an increase of almost 23%,” said Jeremy Smith, director of the WV Navigator program. “That compares to 23,037 enrollments in 2022.”
Nationwide, a record 16.3 million people sought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year, double the number covered when the marketplaces first launched nearly a decade ago. More than three million new members joined the marketplace, also known as “Obamacare,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“West Virginia saw the sixth highest increase in the nation for states that use heathcare.gov,” he said.
Prior to the start of this year’s open enrollment, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a record amount of grant funding to organizations that provide free help to consumers needing help enrolling in health coverage.
“In West Virginia, First Choice Services was awarded $1,050,000 to continue and expand their WV Navigator program,” Smith said. “The program provides free assistance to people finding and selecting healthcare options through the Marketplace, Medicaid and CHIP.”
Smith said the increased funding helped the program expand.
“The historic increase in funding for our program last year, and then again this year, has helped our program increase our enrollments by over 30% from last year,” he said. “Our navigators have been working hard to help get the word out to people about the benefits of the Marketplace and we are excited to see how the rest of the year goes.”
Even though open enrollment has ended, some people will qualify for special enrollment periods to enroll throughout the year, according to Smith.
“WV Navigator is encouraging anyone who loses their health coverage anytime during the year to contact them to find out what their options are,” he said. “Most people will be able to qualify for substantially lower costs if they get their insurance on the marketplace.”
Smith says getting help signing up is important, as many people are overwhelmed by the options or may not realize how to shop for affordable health coverage.
“We are really urging people to look at the new plans and prices that are being released this year. In a lot of cases, the plans are more affordable than we’ve ever seen,” Smith said. “Even if you have looked into insurance on the marketplace in past years and were not very happy, you should definitely look into it again this year.”
For free assistance, the WV Navigator program is available by calling 304-356-5834 or visiting the website at www.ACANavigator.com.
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