ACA health insurance enrollment sets record for 2023

Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans drew a record 16.3 million people during the 2023 open enrollment period.

The U.S. Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the figure for the signup Nov. 1, 2022, to Jan. 15, 2023, for most of the ACA Marketplaces. Among the data:

• The total is 1.8 million, or 13%, more than at the same time last year.
• 3.6 million, or 22%, are new to the ACA Marketplaces for 2023. It is a 21% increase in new-to-Marketplace plan selections from 2022.
• 12.7 million, or 78%, had active 2022 coverage and selected a new plan for 2023, or were re-enrolled.
• 92% of enrollees had access to three or more plans in the ACA Marketplace.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said the figures is more than double the number of people who signed up for insurance using healthcare.gov when open enrollment started in 2014.

The president touted the financial benefits of lower rates delivered by the American Rescue Plan, then renewed as part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. Four out of fine enrollees found ACA coverage for as little as $10 a month, so millions of families will save $800 per person per year on their premiums, according to the White House.

“I promised to lower costs for families and ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. Today, we received further proof that our efforts are delivering record-breaking results,” the president’s statement said. “We’ve made record-breaking progress in expanding coverage and lowering health care costs for American families, saving them money and giving more Americans the peace of mind that comes with affordable health insurance.”

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure issued a statement about the enrollment.

“Unprecedented investments lead to unprecedented results,” Becerra said in his statement. “The Biden-Harris Administration has made lowering health care costs and expanding access to health insurance a top priority – and these record-breaking numbers show we are delivering results for the American people. We will keep doing everything we can to ensure more people have the peace of mind that comes with high-quality, affordable health care.”

On the 10th anniversary of the ACA marketplaces, the nation’s uninsured rate is at a record low, Brooks-LaSure said.

“President Biden promised to build on the success of the Affordable Care Act and make it easier for people to enroll and find affordable, quality coverage – and that promise has been kept,” Brooks-LaSure said in her statement.