It’s estimated more than half a million New Jersey residents who went without got health insurance last year either through expanded Medicaid or on healthcare.gov. 160,000 people took advantage of the Affordable Care Act last year. Saturday, Nov. 15 the open enrollment begins for Obamacare and this year there are more health insurers to choose from and more plans and widely differing prices. Health and Human Services Regional Director Jackie Cornell-Bechelli told NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams that the newest feature to the website is window shopping, which allows consumers to browse through the plans.
Cornell-Bechelli said that she is working very hard to test the website. She said that a new feature that she is excited about is window shopping, which allows people to go on and start looking at the plans that are available by plugging in just a few key pieces of information, including zip code, age, and if they smoke, and they are able to see what is out there. She is optimistic that not only is that good for consumers but it will be better for the website because one can browse without having to make an account.
“We are really excited, we now have five issuers. We have expanded from three last year to five. With that, we have more plans. With more plans comes more competition and more affordability. So we are excited about the addition of these two additional issuers,” said Cornell-Bechelli.
Cornell-Bechelli said that is is optimistic that the competition will drive down prices. She said that in New Jersey she is analyzing what has been put forth. She said that she knows that there is a zero deductible plan.
“We encourage people to go out there and explore. There’s a lot of new plans out there, and look and see what is best for them and their families,” said Cornell-Bechelli.
Cornell-Bechelli said that HHS is working to decrease the number of uninsured. She said that there is not a hard number in New Jersey when it comes to enrollment expectations. She said there are 161,000 individuals who purchased plans last year and they will renew this year so they get to look and choose to see if what they had still works for them.
Cornell-Bechelli said that subsidies are available for some people. She said that New Jersey is ahead of the curve because nationwide it is seven out of 10 and in New Jersey it is 82 percent of people last year that received financial support. She said that the great thing about window shopping is that it will give people that information as well.