Health Care Enrollment Off to Solid Start

Open enrollment in health insurance through state exchange Access Health CT is underway, and officials say the first two days have gone off without a hitch.

“It’s been all systems go since Saturday,” said Jason Madrak, Access Health CT chief marketing officer.

Madrak said the state handled well over 1,000 online visits per hour Saturday, and early Monday the state’s call centers were receiving approximately 600 calls per hour.

“People want health care,” said New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, who welcomed U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro to the Access Health Connecticut retail location in downtown New Haven.

State officials are aiming to sign up 140,000 new customers under the federal health care law. Those goals are not specific to either Medicaid enrollment or private health plans.

Officials said most residents who have yet to enroll live in the state's 10 largest cities. The message to them is two-fold, according to Madrak. He said they need to know that coverage is affordable and that they can get help signing up online, on the phone and in person.

“You don’t have to do this by yourself. There is help available. It can be daunting, it can be confusing, it can be challenging but we encourage everybody to come out to centers just like this one,” Madrak said.

DeLauro said there’s no reason to expect poor results in Connecticut, which had one of the most successful open enrollments in the country.

“We want to cut our uninsured rate by half like we did last time,” she said.

It's unclear what a Republican-controlled Congress could bring next year when it comes to health insurance. DeLauro, who voted for the federal health care law, said she thinks the political gamesmanship has to come to an end.

“There will be those who want to de-legitimize it. We live in a Democracy but I do not believe that the country wants to see this law turned over,” DeLauro said.

Open enrollment ends Feb. 15.

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