CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Monday marked the first day of this year’s open enrollment period for health insurance, and one non-profit that assists West Virginians with purchasing health insurance is excited about this year.
Insurance plans are available for people who do not have job-based plans or cannot enroll in a public program like Medicare. People have been able to purchase insurance plans through health insurance marketplaces since 2013.
According to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 19,381 West Virginians purchased health insurance during last year’s open enrollment period that went from Nov. 1, 2020 to Dec. 15, 2020.
Jeremy Smith, the program director for West Virginia Navigator, said this year will be special.
“I’ve been a navigator since 2013, and for me, this is the first one where everything seems to have come into line,” he said. “The pricing on the marketplace is better than we’ve ever seen … we’ve got more navigators in the state than we’ve ever had, so this is a really special open enrollment period, and we want to make sure that West Virginians know about these options so that they can get health coverage.”
Dalton Paxman, the acting regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said consumers will have more choices this year as well as lower costs because of the federal coronavirus relief act, which increased subsidies for health insurance.
“In fact, four out of five health consumers will be able to find coverage for $10 or less per month with the extra savings made available under the American Rescue Plan,” he said.
The enrollment period has also been extended an extra month to Jan. 15, 20222. People should enroll by Dec. 15 for their coverage to start in the new year.