The special enrollment period for the federal exchange is set to end August 15, though administration officials said they are looking at extending it. States that run their own marketplaces have set their own deadlines.
The additional sign ups have pushed Obamacare enrollment to a record level, though officials said they were not providing the figure now due to data lags. Total enrollment will be released soon.
“When you make coverage affordable, when you make it easy for people to enroll, they will do so,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.
Enrollees now pay no more than 8.5% of their income toward coverage, down from nearly 10%. And lower-income policyholders can receive subsidies that eliminate their premiums completely.
Also, those earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level — about $51,000 for an individual and $104,800 for a family of four in 2021 — are now eligible for help for the first time.
The agency is focused on making sure a large swath of Medicaid enrollees don’t lose coverage when the public health emergency ends, Brooks-LaSure said.
Nearly 400,000 people have been found to be eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) during the open enrollment period.
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