7,832 more buy policies on hub; total hits 41,402

Enrollment in plans on Arkansas’ health-insurance exchange among those who did not qualify for Medicaid rose by about 7,800 people during a two-week span that ended Sunday, according to figures released by the state Insurance Department.

From March 24 through April 6, 7,832 people enrolled in the plans, bringing the total to 41,402, the figures show.

That’s still less than half of the enrollment total of 115,925 for 2014 that was projected by consultants to the Insurance Department in 2011.

Max Greenwood, a spokesman for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, cited problems with the federal online enrollment portal, healthcare.gov, during October and November as a reason the sign-ups have lagged.

“You pretty much lost a month and a half, at least, of your enrollment period,” Greenwood said. “It’s hard to gauge how many people tried during that time and either got frustrated and never came back or just didn’t complete the process.”

QualChoice Health Insurance Chief Executive Officer Michael Stock said enrollment with his company also fell below expectations.

He noted that the premiums for his company’s plans were generally higher than those for plans offered by Arkansas Blue Cross.

“People shopped strictly on price, primarily, and Blue Cross had the lowest rates on the exchange,” Stock said.

Set up in every state under the 2010 federal health-care overhaul law, exchanges allow people to shop for coverage and apply for subsidies to help them pay for it.

In Arkansas, the so-called private option created by the Legislature also allows people who qualify for coverage under the state’s expanded Medicaid program to sign up for a plan on the exchange and have the premium paid by Medicaid.

The expansion extended coverage to adults with incomes of up to 138 percent of the poverty level: for example, $16,105 for an individual and $32,913 for a family of four.

Those who don’t qualify for Medicaid may be eligible for federal tax credits to help them buy coverage. The tax credits are available to those with incomes of less than 400 percent of the poverty level: for example, $45,960 for an individual and $94,200 for a family of four.

Enrollment began Oct. 1. Those who qualify for Medicaid coverage can apply at any time during the year.

For others, the deadline to sign up for coverage for 2014 was March 31. Applicants who started to enroll before the deadline can still complete the process.

Insurance Department spokesman Heather Haywood said people who have not yet completed enrollment should do so by Tuesday to ensure their coverage will start May 1.

Coverage for those who complete enrollment later in April would start June 1.

Federal officials haven’t given a final deadline for applicants to complete enrollment, Haywood said.

While enrollment among those who don’t qualify for Medicaid has been slow, officials say the pace of enrollment in the private option has exceeded their expectations.

Arkansans enrolled in private-option plans totaled 106,324 as of March 21. Tens of thousands of others had been approved for coverage but had not yet completed enrollment.

Insurance companies are required to include private-option and non-Medicaid enrollees in the same risk pool, meaning their medical expenses will be considered in establishing future premiums.

Both Greenwood and Stock said it’s too early to say how their companies will adjust their premiums for next year.

“We’ll have to look at our pricing structure, where we think the rest of the market’s going to go with their pricing structure, what we can do in our plan designs to potentially make some modifications and what we can do to get our cost structure as low as possible,” Stock said.

Stock has said he expects his company’s plans to be available in all 75 counties next year, compared with 51 counties this year.

State Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock, a sponsor of the law creating the private option, said the program has given Arkansas’ risk pool a greater percentage of young people than any other state’s.

He added that health-care providers haven’t reported a large increase patients seeking services, which should bode well for future premiums.

“There was this idea that there was a demonstrable level of pent-up demand, and there was going to be this onslaught,” Sanders said. “What I’m hearing is that that has not been the case.”

Sanders said he hopes that Centene Corp, which is offering plans in 29 counties this year, will expand into new territory along with QualChoice.

A spokesman for Centene Corp. didn’t return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and its national affiliate, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, are offering plans in every county this year.