More than 528,000 Americans signed up for health insurance through the electronic insurance exchange HealthCare.gov since the start of the 2021 special enrollment period, according to a news release from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
This included approximately 322,000 sign-ups from March 1 to March 31.
CMS said the number of people signing up for health insurance from the start of the SEP opportunity on February 15 through March 31 represents a substantial increase from 2020 and 2019, when 209,000 and 171,000 consumers signed up for health insurance respectively.
Data suggest a more diverse set of American consumers are enrolling in health insurance coverage. Of enrollees who identified a race from February 15 through March 31, 17% identified as Black, compared to about 11% during the same period in both 2020 and 2019. In addition, lower income Americans represent a larger percentage of new plan selections so far during the special enrollment period compared to prior years. Among consumers requesting financial assistance, 41% have a household income between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level, compared to 38% in 2020 and 33% in 2019.
