Open enrollment process 'stable,' Health Connector says
A little more than a week into the open enrollment period, Massachusetts Health Connector Authority officials said the process of enrolling new customers in health plans has gone smoothly, unlike in years past.
"We are now at day 12 of the annual open enrollment period ... and to date we have enjoyed stable execution of open enrollment activities since plan shopping began Nov. 1," Health Connector Executive Director Louis Gutierrez said Thursday. "To date we've had 2,645 new eligibility determinations performed since Nov. 1. Of those, we have 500 new members who have either checked out or enrolled, along with 2,005 existing customers who completed their renewals."
Open enrollment, the period during which individuals can buy insurance plans through the online, state-based health insurance exchange, will run through Jan. 31, 2016. This open enrollment period will be the first full period under Gov. Charlie Baker, a onetime health insurance executive who had previously criticized the Connector's performance.
"Frankly, I don't want to jinx it because it's only been a week but opening week here, from a performance point of view, was terrific," Baker told reporters Monday. "So far the system, minus some modest sort of glitches, seems to be working pretty well, but obviously we have a long way to go between now and the end of December."
Gutierrez on Thursday cautioned the Health Connector Board of Directors that there are about 80 days yet to go in open enrollment, and that the system has historically seen periods of heavy traffic as payment and coverage deadlines draw nearer. "If history is any indicator, as we get closer to the Dec. 23 deadline for enrolling for January coverage, that is a particularly busy time," he said.
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