HealthSource RI: Enrollment drops from last week

HEALTHSOURCE RI RELEASED its latest enrollment figures as of Jan. 31, showing 27,475 total enrollments. / COURTESY HEALTHSOURCE RI
HEALTHSOURCE RI RELEASED its latest enrollment figures as of Jan. 31, showing 27,475 total enrollments. / COURTESY HEALTHSOURCE RI

(Updated 2:51 p.m.) PROVIDENCE – HealthSource RI is reporting 27,475 enrollments in the state’s health benefits exchange, a drop of 670 enrollments from last week.

According to information from HealthSource RI, enrollments dropped because individuals who select a plan and do not pay by their selected coverage effective date are canceled. As a result, enrollment data will fluctuate. The most recent coverage payment deadline was Jan. 23 for coverage that was to begin Feb. 1.

The latest enrollment figures are for the open enrollment period through Jan. 31. As of the end of the month, 78 percent of Year One customers had renewed for 2015, with 77 percent of renewing customers having already paid their first month’s premium.

A total of 7,588 customers are new, and 7,056 of them have paid, while renewed customers total 19,887, with 19,580 of them having paid.

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The 2014 total for individual enrollments was 25,288.

Customers have 20 plans to choose from on the individual market, eight more than in 2014. Sixty-one percent of those renewing have selected a different plan for 2015, and 38 percent of renewing individuals have selected a plan with a different carrier.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island continues to be the most popular choice, with 51 percent of individuals choosing its plans, followed by Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island at 46 percent, and UnitedHealthcare of New England at 3 percent. This is the first year UnitedHealthcare has been offered on the individual market.

On the small business side, small employer enrollment (paid and unpaid) totals 455, representing 3,333 covered lives, a gain on the 437 enrollments and 3,184 covered lives reported on Jan. 24.

The exchange reported 11,613 walk-ins at the Providence office from Nov. 7 to Jan. 31, and 2,669 walk-ins at the Warwick office, for the same time period.

HealthSource RI’s website, healthsourceri.com,also has had 552,910 page views.

Open enrollment for individuals ends Feb. 15. New and renewing customers who enroll by Feb. 15 and pay their first month’s premium by Feb. 23 will have coverage that begins March 1. Small employers may enroll at their renewal date, regardless of when it falls during the calendar year.

HealthSource RI Director Anya Rader said that exchange customers have been sent an important tax document, the new Internal Revenue Service Tax Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement.

The form must be sent by HealthSource RI to anyone who enrolled in health insurance through the exchange during 2014, or had a family member enroll.

The new tax forms have been sent to approximately 23,600 Rhode Island households. An additional 3,381 households were sent a notice that their forms will be delayed due to potential calculation errors.

“HealthSource RI customers who received advance premium tax credits to lower their monthly premium insurance payment in 2014, or want to claim the premium tax credit at tax time, must file a federal income tax return,” Wallack said. “Form 1095-A provides the information they will need to complete their return, such as who in their family had health insurance each month in 2014, how much they paid for insurance each month, and the amount of tax credit that was sent to their health insurance company each month to help pay for their monthly premiums.”

Said Wallack, “We know this is a new process and may be confusing for HealthSource RI customers, and so we urge people to watch their mail for this document, review the form and seek advice from a qualified tax preparer, or visit one of the free tax sites in Rhode Island. We apologize to those customers whose forms will arrive late. We are working diligently to correct the issue and mail the delayed 1095-A forms as soon as possible. While HealthSource RI staff cannot provide tax advice, customers can call us at 1-855-408-1344 with any questions they may have about the 1095-A process.”

Customers also can visit HealthSource RI’s website, www.healthsourceri.com, for information about this issue.

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