Fact Sheets Jun 11, 2021

2021 Marketplace Special Enrollment Period Report

February 15 – May 31, 2021

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that over 1.2 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through HealthCare.gov since February 15, the start of the 2021 Marketplace Special Enrollment Period (SEP) opportunity, through May 31, with 376,000 consumers signing up for health insurance in the month of May.[1]

The number of new plan selections from the start of the SEP opportunity on February 15 through May 31 represents a substantial increase in enrollment from the same period in 2020 and 2019, when 501,000 and 359,000 consumers signed up for Marketplace coverage, respectively.[2] In previous years, SEPs were available primarily only for qualifying life events, whereas this year the Biden-Harris Administration opened a SEP to all Americans in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

Under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), most consumers are now eligible for more generous advance payments of premium tax credits (APTC), which further reduce monthly premiums. Since HealthCare.gov implemented the expanded APTC amounts on April 1, 2.3 million consumers have returned to the Marketplace and reduced their monthly premiums after APTC by over 40 percent, from $103 to $61, on average, and 30 percent (687,000) of returning consumers newly selected plans for $10 or less after APTC.

The ARP also makes it more affordable for new consumers to purchase and use Marketplace coverage. For new consumers selecting plans during the SEP, the average monthly premium after APTC fell by 26 percent, from $117 for those enrolling from February 15 through March 31 to $87 for those enrolling from April 1 through May 31, and 43 percent (347,000) of new consumers since April 1 selected plans for $10 or less after APTC. The ARP also helped to lower out of pocket costs for new consumers. The median deductible for new consumers during the SEP fell by 83 percent, from $450 prior to April 1 to $75 for new consumers enrolling from April 1 through May 31.

In this month’s report, CMS is also releasing data on the gender, race, and ethnicity of consumers enrolling during the SEP, as well as state-level data on the percentage of consumers newly selecting plans for $10 or less since the ARP implementation.

Plan Selection and Application Activity

Feb. 15 –May 31, 2021

New Plan Selections

1,240,936

New Consumers Requesting Coverage on an Application Submitted on or after February 15

2,299,724

Marketplace Eligible

1,961,838

Medicaid/CHIP Eligible

331,491

 

Call Center and Website Activity

Feb. 15 –May 31, 2021

Call Center Volume

3,171,510

Calls with Spanish-Speaking Representative

390,662

HealthCare.gov Users

19,188,309

Window Shopping HealthCare.gov Users

1,052,545

CuidadoDeSalud.gov Users

892,706

Window Shopping CuidadoDeSalud.gov Users

48,559

 

New Plan Selections by Gender (%)

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2021

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2020

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2019

Female

54

55

56

Male

46

45

44

 

New Plan Selections by Ethnicity (%)

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2021

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2020

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2019

Hispanic/Latino

11

10

11

Not Hispanic/Latino

49

51

54

Unknown

39

39

36

 

New Plan Selections by Race (%)

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2021

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2020

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2019

African-American

7

6

6

Asian

3

4

4

White

33

38

43

Other Race[3]

3

3

4

Unknown

54

49

43

 

New Plan Selections by State

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2021

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2020

Feb. 15 – May 31, 2019

Alaska

2,527

972

851

Alabama

25,127

8,761

5,973

Arkansas

11,419

4,492

4,045

Arizona

23,621

9,672

8,252

Delaware

3,667

1,878

1,295

Florida

339,396

142,294

97,864

Georgia

87,950

28,060

17,498

Hawaii

2,624

1,846

1,176

Iowa

9,107

4,687

3,600

Illinois

33,130

18,166

15,523

Indiana

16,656

8,584

7,595

Kansas

12,462

5,284

3,910

Kentucky

10,075

5,550

5,789

Louisiana

10,055

4,691

5,283

Maine

6,036

3,094

2,584

Michigan

28,831

15,856

13,745

Missouri

30,733

10,927

7,549

Mississippi

18,175

5,924

3,463

Montana

4,425

2,677

1,936

North Carolina

74,074

26,169

18,960

North Dakota

3,311

1,510

1,106

Nebraska

9,540

4,806

3,989

New Hampshire

5,425

3,013

2,498

New Mexico

5,392

2,183

1,953

Ohio

28,530

13,625

10,634

Oklahoma

24,545

12,371

8,943

Oregon

13,708

8,963

7,877

South Carolina

35,573

11,331

7,085

South Dakota

4,499

1,860

1,496

Tennessee

34,145

12,597

7,302

Texas

239,379

78,572

43,473

Utah

26,666

12,589

10,151

Virginia

32,908

13,786

12,728

Wisconsin

20,701

11,743

11,061

West Virginia

2,509

1,295

1,033

Wyoming

4,015

1,668

1,261

HealthCare.gov States Total

1,240,936

501,496

359,481

 

 

% of Consumers Newly Selecting Plans for $10 or Less after APTC, April 1- May 31, 2021

State

New Consumers

Returning Consumers[4]

Total

Alaska

28%

29%

29%

Alabama

54%

35%

43%

Arkansas

27%

18%

21%

Arizona

24%

18%

20%

Delaware

19%

24%

22%

Florida

50%

34%

37%

Georgia

43%

36%

38%

Hawaii

21%

23%

22%

Iowa

41%

35%

37%

Illinois

17%

14%

15%

Indiana

18%

10%

13%

Kansas

34%

21%

25%

Kentucky

32%

19%

23%

Louisiana

25%

23%

24%

Maine

19%

25%

24%

Michigan

20%

19%

19%

Missouri

42%

27%

32%

Mississippi

56%

47%

50%

Montana

25%

24%

24%

North Carolina

50%

34%

39%

North Dakota

41%

34%

37%

Nebraska

48%

34%

38%

New Hampshire

13%

15%

14%

New Mexico

34%

22%

26%

Ohio

21%

14%

16%

Oklahoma

57%

27%

37%

Oregon

13%

15%

15%

South Carolina

47%

28%

35%

South Dakota

35%

27%

30%

Tennessee

45%

30%

35%

Texas

50%

28%

33%

Utah

47%

39%

41%

Virginia

36%

31%

33%

Wisconsin

25%

25%

25%

West Virginia

15%

12%

13%

Wyoming

50%

36%

42%

HealthCare.gov States Total

43%

30%

34%

 

Glossary

New Plan Selections: The number of unique consumers who didn’t have an active enrollment as of February 14, and made a plan selection on or after February 15, that is active as of the end of the reporting period. An active plan selection is one that is non-cancelled with an end date of December 31. While this plan selection metric is net of cancellations and terminations that occur during the reporting period, it doesn’t represent effectuated enrollments because reconciliation activity may continue in later periods.

HealthCare.gov States: This report refers to the 36 Marketplace states that use the HealthCare.gov platform for the 2021 coverage year. The 36 states for 2021 include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

New Consumers Requesting Coverage on an Application Submitted on or after February 15: The number of unique consumers who submitted an application and are requesting coverage on or after February 15, and didn’t have an active enrollment as of February 14. If determined eligible for Marketplace coverage, a consumer still needs to pick a health plan (i.e., plan selection) and pay their premium to have coverage (i.e., effectuate enrollment).

Marketplace Eligible: The number of unique new consumers requesting coverage on an application submitted on or after February 15 who are determined eligible to enroll in a Marketplace health plan, regardless of whether they applied for or are eligible for financial assistance.

Medicaid/CHIP Eligible: The number of unique new consumers requesting coverage on an application submitted on or after February 15 who are assessed or determined eligible for enrollment in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).[5]

Call Center Volume: The total number of calls received by the Marketplace call center, which supports HealthCare.gov, over the course of the reporting period. Calls with Spanish-speaking representatives aren’t included.

Calls with Spanish-Speaking Representative: The total number of calls received by the Marketplace call center, which supports HealthCare.gov, where consumers chose to speak with a Spanish-speaking representative over the course of the reporting period. These calls aren’t included in the Call Center Volume metric.

HealthCare.gov Users or CuidadoDeSalud.gov Users: These user metrics total how many unique users viewed or interacted with HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov, respectively, over the course of the reporting period.

Window Shopping HealthCare.gov Users or CuidadoDeSalud.gov Users: These user metrics total how many unique users interacted with the window-shopping tool at HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov, respectively, over the course of the reporting period. Users who window-shopped are also included in the HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov user total.

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[1] Cumulative plan selections from February 15 through May 31 reflect new plan selections net of terminations and cancellations during that period and count consumers that were not actively enrolled as of February 14. The May 1-31, 2021 total only reflects plan selection activity since May 1 and counts consumers that were not actively enrolled as of April 30.

[2] New Jersey and Pennsylvania transitioned to State-based Marketplaces in 2020, and Nevada transitioned to a State-based Marketplace in 2019. Plan selections from these three states aren’t included in this report.

[3] Other Race includes multiracial, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. 

[4] Represents consumers with an active plan selection as of March 31, 2021 who returned to the Marketplace and made a new plan selection (which could include re-selecting their current plan) during the period that had a premium of $10 or less after APTC. Does not include returning consumers who had a premium of $10 or less after APTC prior to April 1, 2021.

[5] Individuals are generally identified in this report as eligible for either a QHP or Medicaid/CHIP, but there are cases where a consumer is considered eligible for both types of coverage or neither. As a result, the eligibility breakouts do not sum to the total number of consumers requesting coverage on applications submitted.