More than 1.6 million people have selected individual market plans for the 2022 coverage year on HealthCare.gov since the start of Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an enrollment update on HealthCare.gov sign-ups since open enrollment started Nov. 1. The number of sign-ups resembles the count that occurred over the same period in 2020.
CMS reported that 850,792 people signed up for health insurance in the second week of open enrollment from Nov. 7-13, and 1.62 million have signed up since the start of open enrollment Nov. 1.
Overall, 286,905 of the 1.62 million are new consumers, and 1.3 million are renewing customers.
The number of sign-ups over the first two weeks of open enrollment was the same as in the 2021 coverage year, when 1.62 million people chose a plan. However, the number of sign-ups in the second week of the 2021 coverage year open enrollment was 803,741, nearly 50,000 below the figure posted in the latest open enrollment.
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CMS added that nearly 2.8 million people got access to coverage during a special enrollment period that ended back in August. Of that 2.8 million, 2.1 million enrolled via HealthCare.gov, and the rest signed up through state-based marketplaces.
The Biden administration has made massive investments in outreach and marketing for 2022 open enrollment in an effort to increase participation. This includes quadrupling the number of ACA navigators to help assist consumers with choosing coverage.
The investments are a stark departure from the Trump administration, which cut enrollment funding back in 2017. The administration said at the time that the enrollment funding was not needed as consumers were aware of the exchanges and the ACA.