Survey: Only 25% of Obamacare enrollees were uninsured

A survey conducted by a health insurance company has discovered a
“troubling trend” that suggests just one-fourth of those who have signed
up in Michigan for coverage on the Obamacare exchange fall within the
main target of the program – the uninsured.

Grand Rapids-based Priority Health surveyed its enrollees acquired
through the online marketplace, healthcare.gov, and found that just 25
percent were previously uninsured and another 25 percent lost their
employer-based coverage in 2013.

The remaining 50 percent were among those who sparked sharp criticism
of the new health reforms – people who had relied on the individual
insurance market, received a cancellation notice last fall, and had to
find a new health plan.

Priority Health officials believe their clientele is fairly typical
of the overall Michigan market and they said that their research
provides a snapshot of the enrollee population under the Affordable Care
Act. They also caution that the survey results indicate the need for
aggressive education programs targeted at the uninsured in the weeks
leading up to the March 31 enrollment deadline.

“If one of the primary goals of the Affordable Care Act is to help
the uninsured find coverage then … the industry and government have to
step up their efforts,” said Gene Cronin, vice president of marketing
for Priority Health.

If the company’s results hold true for the entire state, that would
mean approximately 18,000 Michiganders are newly insured while an
additional 18,000 lost coverage through their employer. Of those who no
longer have a company-provided medical policy, about half saw their
insurance benefits cancelled and the rest chose to seek out a health
plan on the exchange due to minimal coverage or expensive out-of-pocket
costs.

Don Hazaert, leader of a nonprofit group that organized volunteers to
help with Obamacare signups, said that he was not familiar with
Priority Health’s research. Overall, he said, the recruitment process
has worked well despite the disastrous October rollout of
healthcare.gov.

“Our enrollment numbers are exactly where we hoped they would be
after three months,” said Hazaert, director of Lansing-based Michigan
Consumers for Healthcare.

In contrast, insurers expected the Michigan market to grow by more
than 250,000 people in 2014 but a recent report from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services indicated that only 75,000 enrolled in
Michigan. 
“Consumers broadly would be better educated about their enrollment options if state lawmakers had not refused to appropriate a $20 million federal consumer assistance grant to help educate the public regarding their new coverage options,” Hazaert said. “There is admittedly much left to do and the assister community is working diligently to enroll those who need coverage and help consumers to better understand how to use their new coverage. 

Priority Health officials attracted attention earlier this
month when they questioned predictions by the Obama administration that a
late surge of procrastinators, particularly young adults, will sign up
in the final days before the year-one deadline.

Joan Budden, chief marketing officer for Priority Health, said she
sees a “potentially troubling trend” in the data that shows those who
lost work-based benefits matched the number of those who were uninsured.

The insurer’s research also revealed that people signing up are still
uncertain about the benefits they purchased and the federal subsidies
that make the plans on the exchange affordable, according to Cronin.
Though having broad and easy access to doctors was considered a high
priority when selecting a plan, 43 percent of survey respondents said
they were not sure whether their new provider network met their needs.

“All of the confusion around benefit and network options offered
through the federal marketplace is very concerning,” Budden said.

Priority Health is already gearing up with new educational offerings on their website and on YouTube.

While the coverage mandate for small employers was moved back to Jan.
1, 2015, workers can immediately receive a tax subsidy on the exchange
if they currently spend more than 9.5 percent of their income on annual
health care costs.