Dive Brief:
- More than 670,000 individuals signed up for health coverage through HealthCare.gov, The Huffington Post reported.
- The figure was a record day for ACA signups.
- Last Thursday was intended to be the last day for ACA signups for January 2017 coverage. HHS extended the deadline to 11:59 p.m PT today.
Dive Insight:
The record day came as the looming threat of repeal-and-delay for the ACA under a Trump administration continues to grab headlines. The year 2016 was pretty shakey for the individual insurance market. Insurers scaling back offerings and/or raising health premiums as well as stunted risk pool stabilization payments made for a rough year.
HHS upped their enrollment efforts this year as this enrollment period has been predicted to be crucial to help stabilize the market. With a Trump win for the Oval Office, there continues to be uncertainty with how the ACA's fate will shake out. Some reports has estimated that a replacement plan may not even go into effect for four years. The implications for a repeal-and-delay still have yet to be detailed but if a replacement isn't implemented for four years, the Trump administration could see itself governing the ACA markets during that time.
The final count for ACA signups has yet to be tallied but the increased enrollment does offer that as more individuals sign up, the greater the chance at stabilizing the risk pool.