Note to Media: We can provide state, city, and zip-code level data for the categories shown in this document for healthcare.gov states where HealthSherpa offers ACA-subsidized policies.
Two weeks into the 2019 Open Enrollment Period (OEP19) for ACA individual health insurance, HealthSherpa continues to outperform year-over-year totals for healthcare.gov, which has indicated a decline from last year’s first two weeks while HealthSherpa is up by nearly a third.
- Enrollments are up 32% year-over-year for the first two weeks
- Gross plan premiums have declined 6% and net premiums (after subsidy) are down 36%, resulting in median net premiums of $30 per month for HealthSherpa shoppers
- Shoppers continue to gravitate toward Silver plans, which are comparable in quality and coverage to employer-offered health insurance.
- In addition to low net premiums, roughly 84% of HealthSherpa customers also qualified for cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) which help reduce their out-of-pocket costs.
- 56% of enrollments are by a female head of household, with an average of 1.46 enrollees per application.
- The leading states for enrollment are also states that had the closest gubernatorial and other statewide elections in the 2018 midterms, including Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia and North Carolina.
Year-Over-Year Change in Key Enrollment Metrics
- HealthSherpa Enrollment Volume: Up 32% (2018: 78,684 vs. 2017: 59,444)
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- Total Call Volume: Up 3%
- Median Net Premium: Down 36% (2018: $30.20 vs. 2017: $47.05)
- Median Gross Premium: Down 6% (2018: $818.61 vs. 2017: $874.55)
- Median Subsidy: Down 3% (2018: $724 vs. 2017: $747)
- Median Income: Down 1% (2018: $20,800 vs. 2017: $21,000)
- Average Applicants Per Policy: Up 3% (2018: 1.46 vs. 2017: 1.44)
Notes from George Kalogeropoulos, HealthSherpa CEO:
- Our driving principle is to ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable coverage, so seeing more people get covered for less is very rewarding.
- We can’t say why healthcare.gov’s year-over-year decline coincides with our own strong growth. But we have found that a smart, data-driven user experience presented in an easy-to-navigate way gives people confidence that they’re making the right choices for themselves and their families. That may be driving our numbers and our Net-Promoter Score of 59, which is well above the industry average for health insurance.
- Regarding Red State enrollments, a 2017 UC Berkeley study found that those who identify as politically conservative were 20% more likely to enroll using HealthSherpa than they were using healthcare.gov. As such, the prospect of being able to enroll all or in part through a site like HealthSherpa, in addition to being easy to navigate and understand, may also encourage some to enroll who may otherwise have steered clear for political reasons. If that’s what it takes to get people covered — and to avoid wasting their money on short-term coverage — then we’re happy to be able to provide that service.
- Brokers see the value of offering ACA coverage over short-term plans that aren’t good for consumers. HealthSherpa has more than 28,000 registered brokers on its site, as well as three of the five top insurers in the individual health insurance market.
- Additionally, HealthSherpa is partnered with major nonprofit organizations that are committed to getting everyone coverage in quality, affordable health insurance. Our goals and their goals are the same, and we will proudly continue with that commitment.
Demographics and Plan Choices
