WASHINGTON -- More than 100,000 Arkansans signed up for health insurance coverage during the recent open enrollment period, marking a third consecutive year of increased participation.
According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 100,407 Arkansas residents purchased an insurance plan on the federal platform between Nov. 1, 2022, and Jan. 15, 2023.
The number of Arkansans with health insurance from the federal marketplace increased by 13.8% from the 2022 open enrollment period, which lasted from November 2021 to January 2022. Enrollment has increased every year since the 2020 period -- a two-month term of November 2019 and December 2019 -- when 64,360 people selected a plan.
Arkansas is one of 33 states that utilizes the federal HealthCare.gov platform created under former President Barack Obama's health care law. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., operate their own enrollment platforms; some marketplaces will remain open through the month.
The recent enrollment period also marks the first time Arkansas reached six figures when it comes to people purchasing a health care plan through the exchange.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published state enrollment numbers on Wednesday as part of an announcement recapping the open enrollment period. Administration officials reported 16.3 million Americans have signed up for insurance coverage through state and federal marketplaces so far, an increase from 14.5 million people from the last term. Around 3.6 million people are new customers.
"When President [Joe] Biden was running for office, he promised that he was going to protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act," Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure told reporters Wednesday. "Two years into his administration, he's delivered on that promise."
Officials mentioned recent efforts to boost enrollment numbers involved increased efforts to reach out to low-income, immigrant and minority communities.
Biden administration officials additionally cited increased investments to reduce health care costs and improve access as evidence of the administration's mission. The Inflation Reduction Act -- the sweeping domestic policy legislation that Congress approved last August -- included funding for extending health insurance subsidies through 2025.
Officials said four out of five consumers who returned to the federal marketplace could find a plan with a monthly cost of $10 or less thanks to tax credits.
"These accomplishments are big," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. "It's a big deal. The savings are real. The benefits are real."
Becerra noted the rise in people with insurance through the marketplace. When Obama left office in January 2017, 12.2 million Americans -- including 70,404 Arkansans -- were enrolled in insurance from a state or federal marketplace. In January 2021, nationwide enrollment hovered around 12 million with 66,000 Arkansans having an insurance plan through the marketplace.
"Today, that 16.3 million, it shows you the kind of progress that has been made in just the last couple of years under President Biden's leadership," he said.
The rising enrollment comes with the nation reaching a record-low rate of people without insurance coverage. The Department of Health and Human Services announced last August the uninsured rate hit 8% amid insurance subsidies and outreach efforts.
The number of uninsured Arkansans and Americans is expected to increase later this year as the coronavirus public health emergency comes to an end. People were allowed to enroll in Medicaid during the pandemic, but states can begin removing individuals from the program April 1.
Federal lawmakers approved ending this special enrollment and reducing extra funding for this effort as part of last year's $1.7 trillion spending measure.
Some of those individuals could seek insurance coverage through the federal marketplace. The Biden administration has dedicated $12 million for navigator services when states begin the unwinding process.
Information for this article was contributed by Amanda Seitz of The Associated Press.