Secretary Burwell Previews Third Open Enrollment
Press Release
In a speech at the Howard University College of Medicine today, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia M. Burwell reflected on the progress of the first five years of the Affordable Care Act and provided a look at the upcoming Open Enrollment period. In her speech, the Secretary described how the law is working to deliver access, affordability, and quality coverage and outlined how the Department of Health and Human Services will meet the challenges of the upcoming Open Enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplaces.
Citing a new ASPE Data Point released by HHS, Secretary Burwell noted that about 17.6 million uninsured people have gained health coverage as the law's coverage provisions have taken effect. [1] The number of uninsured people has decreased for three chief reasons: allowing young people up to age 26 to stay on their parents' plans, the Medicaid expansion in 29 states plus DC, and the availability of affordable insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplaces. Secretary Burwell also noted that the uninsured rate declined among African Americans. Between October 2013 and September 12, 2015:
4.0 million Latino adults gained coverage (an 11.5 percent drop)
2.6 million African American adults gained coverage (a 10.3 percent drop)
7.4 million White adults gained coverage (a 6 percent drop)
"Five years in, millions of people have new coverage and the percentage of the uninsured has been reduced to the lowest level on record," said Secretary Burwell. "We now have a new opportunity before us to build on this progress. We know current Marketplace customers are satisfied with their coverage, and we expect most to continue with it. We also believe we can continue to connect people with the coverage they need and further decrease the number of Americans without health insurance."
With Open Enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace beginning its third year on November 1, she acknowledged that "overall, this Open Enrollment is going to be tougher than last year. But while those remaining uninsured may be harder to reach, we're working smarter to reach them. We know Americans are depending on us, and we're doing everything we can to help them find the coverage they need."
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