Groups took advantage of the Nov. 1 start of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace to encourage young people to get signed up for health insurance.
Seventy-four percent of Arizonans who qualify for health insurance through the federal marketplace also qualify for financial assistance, according to Melissa Stafford Jones, the regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
She was at Pima Community College on Tuesday, reaching out to students who may be without health insurance. But she said students are not the only group HHS is trying to reach.
“We want every uninsured person, adult or child, to come see what their options are and get signed up for coverage, see what they’re eligible for,” she said.
The number of carriers has dropped for this year's open enrollment. A spokesperson for the Pima County Health Department said the county is down to two carriers.
Jones described the dearth of insurers as the problem of a young marketplace.
“Issuers are going to continue to come in and out of that marketplace as they get more experience in the process, but what we know today is that every Arizonan who qualifies for the marketplace for 2017 has access to affordable health plans,” she said.
Open enrollment ends Jan. 31, 2017.
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