The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act open enrollment period for 2015 could be more complicated than the first round because of the increase in prices, more participating insurers and a shorter timeframe, according to a report from The New York Times.
Although officials have worked to address the technical problems that plagued HealthCare.gov and some of the state exchanges last year, Kevin Counihan, former head of Connecticut's exchange and current CEO of the federal marketplace, told the Times that the upcoming open enrollment period (which starts Nov. 15) could "make last year look like the good old days."
For one thing, the federal and state exchanges will be handling more consumers. The roughly 8 million people who signed up last year will have to renew their coverage, and the Obama administration hopes to get 5 million more to enroll at the same time, according to the report. Although CMS has established an automatic renewal process for current enrollees, many people will likely want to revisit the marketplace to review the options available. The enrollment period will also last only three months (through Feb. 15), compared with six last year. People who are renewing their coverage will have to do so by Dec. 15, according to the report.
Furthermore, from 19 states that have released information, 30 additional insurance carriers have asked to enter the PPACA marketplaces in 2015, offering 1.6 times as many health plans as last year, according to the report. The price of marketplace plans will also increase considerably in some markets. For instance, Florida Blue plans to up its rates by an average of 17.6 percent.