By Anna Gorman
Fri, Oct 3 2014
By Julie Appleby
LOS ANGELES -- As states gear up for round two of Obamacare enrollment next month, they have their sights set on people like Miles Alva.
Alva, 28, works part-time at a video store and is about to graduate from Cal State Northridge. Getting insured is about the last thing on his mind.
"It's not a priority," the television and cinema arts student said. "I am not interested in paying for health insurance right now."
The second round of enrollment under the nation's Affordable Care Act promises to be tougher than the first. Many of those eager to get covered already did, including those with health conditions that had prevented them from getting insurance in the past.
About 30 million to 40 million people remain uninsured in the United States, according to various surveys.
"When you look at those who remain uninsured, they are in many ways harder to reach," said Anne Filipic, president of Enroll America, a nonprofit group that signs up consumers for new health coverage. "This is really about doubling down and reaching those folks who didn’t get the message the first time."
During the inaugural round, computer glitches and other missteps delayed sign-ups and created a political backlash. Yet more than 7.3 million people purchased health plans through new insurance marketplaces and nearly 8 million low-income people enrolled in Medicaid. The massive effort helped to bring the nation's uninsured rate down to its lowest level since 2008.
This time, states and the federal government aim to renew the people they signed up last year as well as add about 6 million currently uninsured residents to the exchanges and 4 million to the Medicaid rolls, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
And there's a time crunch – the second round of open enrollment lasts only three months, about half the time as before.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said last week that the government is facing "deadlines every day” so it will be ready for the Nov. 15 start date. Officials are testing the site to ensure it can handle the demand, she said.
Health officials and advocates plan to adjust their pitch. Last time, they persuaded many to sign up by extolling the benefits of insurance. This time, they plan to focus more on the financial assistance available to consumers as well as on the penalty for not having coverage. In year two, those without insurance face a fine of $325 per person or 2 percent of their income, whichever is larger.
"People dismissed the penalty a little bit last year," said Michael Marchand, director of communications for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which enrolled 164,000 in health plans last year. This year, higher fines could prompt an “awakening” and change people’s minds, he said.
source : Obamacare Enrollment: Second Year An Even Tougher Challenge
