Delaware’s Insurance Commissioner is encouraging residents to sign up for the Affordable Care Act sooner rather than later.
Just over 11,000 Delawareans were signed up in the first month, and Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro says that number is closer to 35,000 today.
“We do know that people tend to wait until the 11th hour to sign up," he says. "So having a lower number right now is not necessarily uncommon.”
Open enrollment began in November and will be extended until January 15, 2023.
“It used to be only six weeks, we've expanded that," Navarro says. "And there's so many things that we’re taking away from the opportunity for people to sign up that's been returned by the current administration, and we're really happy that the numbers have steadily improved and we believe they're going to continue to go up.”
He says it’s hard to predict final numbers since there are two new insurers on the marketplace, but this may have more of an effect on next year’s enrollment numbers. But Navarro says anyone who couldn’t afford ACA in the past should give it a second look.
“The funds now available to offset the costs," he says. "Especially for families or folks who aren't quite at the Medicare age yet, there's supplements available so that now it's more affordable than ever before.”
And the public health emergency could have an effect on enrollment eligibility too – the American Rescue Plan Act expanded marketplace subsidies above 400% of the poverty level in 2021, spurring an increase of more than 3 million sign ups in 2022.
Delawareans can enroll at healthcare.gov.
