ALBANY, NY (September 7, 2017)- NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan Marketplace, today announced that the Open Enrollment Period for 2018 Qualified Health Plan coverage will begin November 1, 2017 and end January 31, 2018. While the federal government has cut the 2018 Open Enrollment Period in half, New York looks to build on its success and is exercising its authority to extend the deadline. A longer enrollment period has been shown to increase enrollment of younger individuals and enables the Marketplace to provide better customer service to New Yorkers.
“Our goal is to ensure that consumers have adequate time to shop for and enroll in the health plan that is best for their family,” said NY State of Health Executive Director, Donna Frescatore. “Since 2013, more than 3.6 million New Yorkers have enrolled in affordable coverage through the Marketplace. As we enter our fifth open enrollment period, New York is more committed than ever to ensuring that core protections of the Affordable Care Act remain intact. Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, New York has taken many steps to ensure that New Yorkers continue to have access to quality, affordable health insurance coverage.”
In the states that use the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov, the federal government has set December 15, 2017, as the end date for open enrollment. Because New York operates its own marketplace, the state has flexibility to set its open enrollment period dates. New York is exercising this authority to meet the needs of consumers by ensuring that they have sufficient time to enroll, and adequate access to enrollment assistance from the Customer Service Center and in-person assistors. Given the volume of calls and appointments during previous open enrollment periods, a shortened Open Enrollment could result in longer consumer wait times.
NY State of Health expects to renew coverage for more than 400,000 households and enroll new people into coverage during the Open Enrollment Period. Data show that younger individuals are more likely to enroll later in the Open Enrollment Period.
Individuals currently enrolled in a plan through NY State of Health will receive notices in October about how to renew their coverage for 2018 directly from the Marketplace.Notices will include information about how to select a plan, if applicable. Consumers whose plans are discontinuing in 2018 – Affinity and CareConnect, which enrolled less than three and five percent of individuals respectively- will have options from other issuers. These insurers participated in New York City and surrounding counties where individuals will have six or more insurer options in 2018.
Details about 2018 plan options will be released in late September.
Enrollment in the Essential Plan, Medicaid and Child Health Plus is open all year.
For more information about NY State of Health, visit:Â https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/Â or call Customer Service at 1-855-355-5777, TTY: 1-800-662-1220 to find an enrollment assistor.
NOTE FOR SENIORS and CAREGIVERS: If you are a senior or caregiver for a senior, and you have questions about health insurance or Managed Long Term Care (MLTC), be sure to stop by the ‘Senior Center Square‘ section of the upcoming Healthy NYC Expo at the Brooklyn Sports Center, Saturday November 4, 2017. Register Here.
