More than 163,000 consumers selected plans on the federal health exchange during the eighth week of Affordable Care Act open enrollment, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/span> announced Jan. 14. Total signups reached more than 6.75 million since the enrolment began on Nov. 15, 2014.
The most recent report covers the Jan. 3 to Jan. 9.
HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell urged consumers to explore their options for health insurance before open enrolment ends Feb. 15. She noted that in the first month of the , 87% of consumers received financial assistance to help lower the cost of their premiums.
HHS is releasing weekly snapshots preliminary data drawn from the federal exchange, or CuidadodeSalud.gov, and callers to the federal call center at 800-318-2596. It also produces monthly reports that include data from both the federal and state-run exchanges.
Just over 332,000 applications were submitted online in the latest week, bringing the total to 8.77 million applications submitted since enrollmet opened.
The HealthCare.gov site was visited by almost 2.2 million consumers during the week, for a total 18.1 million since enrolment opened. This compares to 82,000 during the week for the Spanish-language CuidadodeSalude.gov site, and a total 643,000 since enrolment opened.
More than 715,000 consumers contacted the call center during the most recent week. They waited an average six seconds on hold. Callers seeking a Spanish-speaking representative waited about three seconds.
More than 580,000 visitors used the HealthCare.gov “window shopping” tool during the week to explore coverage options available to them. Almost 13,000 window-shopped CuidadodeSalud.gov.
