Nearly 15,000 people signed up for coverage through D.C. Health Link to begin by Jan. 1, officials announced this week.
The D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority reported 1,886 new enrollees and 13,100 people who have re-enrolled in private health insurance plans so far in this second open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act. Earlier this month, officials said there could be up to 500 applications that weren’t completed by the first deadline to obtain health coverage by Jan. 1 because of a glitch in the system’s new features. Officials said all of those impacted enrollees would have coverage by Jan. 1.
Between Nov. 15 and Dec. 21, the D.C. Health Link website had 56,318 visitors with 109,058 visits. It fielded 25,667 calls to its customer service center.
At the end of the last open enrollment, which ended in early 2014, D.C. Health Link had about 10,700 enrollees in private health plans.
Open enrollment for 2015 runs through Feb. 15.
Meanwhile, nearly 35,000 Marylanders rushed to buy health plans through Maryland Health Connection before the exchange’s Dec. 18 deadline for coverage that starts Jan. 1. My colleague, Sarah Gantz at the Baltimore Business Journal, reported CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield has gained more than 80 percent of Maryland Health Connection enrollees choosing health plans.
