HSRI: Enrollments climb nearly 6%

HEALTHSOURCE RI said 31,794 individuals are enrolled in 2016 coverage as of Jan. 16.
HEALTHSOURCE RI said 31,794 individuals are enrolled in 2016 coverage as of Jan. 16.

PROVIDENCE – HealthSource RI said enrollment as of Jan. 16 on the state’s health insurance exchange now totals 31,794, both paid and unpaid, a nearly 6 percent increase from the previous week.
The latest enrollment figure shows a 1,779 increase in enrollments. Last week, enrollment dipped by approximately 4,600 individuals as some enrollees failed to make their first premium payment by Dec. 31 and were cancelled.
Maria Tocco, HealthSource RI spokeswoman, said she was not sure if this week’s increase is due solely to people who were dropped after the Dec. 31 deadline who returned to re-enroll, but that it was “very likely.”
Open enrollment for individuals and families began Nov. 1 and will continue through Jan. 31.
The majority of the 31,794 individuals are 2015 HSRI enrollees auto-renewed into a 2016 plan. Of the total, 29,623 are enrolled in 2016 coverage through HSRI and have paid their first month’s premium, according to information from the exchange.
Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island continues to be the most popular carrier with 49 percent of enrollments, followed by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island at 47 percent and UnitedHealthcare of New England at 4 percent.
The majority of enrollees are women, at 54 percent, compared with 46 percent for men. Eighty-seven percent are receiving some type of financial assistance, while 13 percent are not, HSRI said.
Small employers may enroll at their renewal date, regardless of where it falls in the calendar year; the same is true for Medicaid-eligible individuals.
From Nov. 1 through Jan. 16, healthsourceri.com has received 240,360 visits, and 126,444 phone calls have been made to the exchange.

No posts to display