New York's health insurance exchange is meeting enrollment projections and attracting a diverse mix of the state's residents, while trying hard to troubleshoot any website problems or consumer complaints.
Between Medicaid, individual plans and small group policies, the exchange has tentatively enrolled about 294,000 New Yorkers in new coverage, as of Jan. 12, said New York State of Health executive director Donna Frescatore, a former state Medicaid director, at a new year assment of the first enrollment period with state lawmakers.
The early enrollment data suggests the exchange is well on its way to the goal of more than 1 million by 2016, aided by what Frescatore called "a seamless front end envisioned for the state." It's also one of few state exchanges with a small business plan website, selling policies for about 5,000 employees so far, she said.
"I think New York is doing a good job when compared certainly to the federal exchange," said Sen. James Seward, a Republican from central New York, who co-sponsored the hearing.
As of Dec. 24, the exchange had enrolled about 75,000 residents in Medicaid and 159,000 in one of 16 private health plans, about half of them previously uninsured, Frescatore said.
New York's exchange, administered through the Department of Health, has also drawn a diverse demographic mix, with about 30 percent of enrollees being under 35-years-old thanks in part to "broad awareness and interest among young adults," Frescatore said. About 40 percent are between 35 and 54-years-old and about 30 percent are older than 54.
About half of the policies sold for Jan. 1 coverage were in the silver category: 17 percent were platinum level benefits, 13 percent were gold, 11 percent were basic silver, 39 percent were silver with some cost sharing, 18 percent were bronze and 2 percent were catastrophic plans.
All of that may change over the course of the year, especially with the new individual mandate hardship exemption offered to consumers with cancelled policies who can't find comparable rates in exchanges.
And there's more data to come: it's not clear yet how many New Yorkers have paid their premiums for Jan. 1 coverage.
Frescatore expects enrollment will continue steadily, which may keep the exchange's call center, online, and in-person consumer assistors busy. Seward, the senator sponsoring the hearing, said he has heard of constituents who have "signed up but haven't gotten cards" and prolonged wait times on the consumer help line.