More than 42,000 Clark County residents have enrolled in health plans through the state-based insurance exchange since the open enrollment period began in October.
Statewide, nearly 700,000 people used Washington Healthplanfinder to enroll or renew their coverage with commercial health plans or the state’s Medicaid program, according to the exchange’s second annual enrollment report released Thursday.
In Clark County, 5,279 people renewed their commercial health plan coverage; another 4,665 people signed up for new plans, according to the report.
The remainder of the local enrollees (32,729 people) enrolled in Medicaid coverage. Those enrollees are adults who became eligible for coverage through the Medicaid expansion implemented under the Affordable Care Act.
Clark County’s enrollment numbers ranked fifth-highest in the state.
At the state level, 91,341 people renewed their commercial health plan coverage, while 66,961 are new plan enrollees. The remainder are newly eligible Medicaid enrollees, according to the report.
Of those who enrolled in commercial health plans through early March, 77 percent received a tax credit to lower their monthly insurance premiums, according to the state report.
The average monthly health plan premium for those qualifying for a tax credit was $174. Those without a tax credit paid an average of $384 per month, according to the report.
“We are pleased to have gained nearly 67,000 new customers in the Qualified Health Plan market this year,” said Richard Onizuka, the exchange’s chief executive officer, in a news release. “We’re looking forward to continuing to grow our competitive marketplace during the next enrollment period.”
This year’s open enrollment period ended Feb. 15. Two days later, however, the exchange announced a special enrollment period for people who were unaware of the tax penalty for being uninsured and for those who couldn’t complete the enrollment process due to technical issues.
The special enrollment period runs through April 17. After that, the next opportunity to enroll in commercial health plans — except for people experiencing qualifying life events — isn’t until Nov. 1.
