Philly Is Winning at Enrolling People for Obamacare

HealthCare.gov

Philly is among the nation’s leaders in enrolling residents for health insurance, the White House announced this week. Signup for Obamacare coverage during the 2016 year ends today.

The city joined Milwaukee and Detroit in signing the most new residents for health insurance, White House officials said, though they told Philly Mag today they don’t yet have an exact number. The communities were among 20 big cities challenged by the White House in November to raise their health insurance enrollment rates during the signup period.

The winning city gets a visit from President Obama. The more tangible victory, of course, is reducing a community’s vast numbers of uninsured.

https://twitter.com/vj44/status/676547282746122240/photo/1

Philadelphia was seen as one of the cities most in need of an enrollment push: Federal officials estimated there were 178,000 residents in the city and surrounding region eligible for affordable health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Statewide, Pennsylvania has made strides, however, in covering the uninsured: The adult uninsured rate dropped from 11 percent in 2013 to 7.7 percent in the first half of this year.

The New York Times reported Monday that a surge of last-second callers temporarily overwhelmed the government’s capacity to enroll new consumers. Consumers who begin the application by day’s end but find themselves stuck in the digital line will be allowed to complete their applications later, while getting insurance on January 1st.

Those interested in obtaining health insurance for 2016 can start the process at HealthCare.gov.

Follow @JoelMMathis on Twitter.