200,000 to lose ACA coverage

Upward of 200,000 people who signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and may not be legal residents of the U.S. are set to lose their insurance coverage, the government said Wednesday.

This is on top of the 115,000 whom the government announced in Septemberwould lose their coverage. Undocumented immigrants aren’t allowed to use government-run health exchanges to buy insurance.

Andy Slavitt, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ principal deputy administrator, says these individuals have failed to reply to the government’s multiple requests for documentation.

A further undisclosed amount of people will not lose coverage, but may see their premiums increase because the subsidy they receive might change, CMS said Wednesday on a media call. CMS would not provide the exact number, but in September 363,000 people fell into this category.

Enrollment

As the deadline for open enrollment approaches on Sunday, CMS says that as of Feb. 6, 7.75 million consumers have made plan selections through the federally-facilitated marketplace, which includes Healthcare.gov.

“Momentum continues to build as more and more people are signing up for plans,” Slavitt says. As of 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, visitors to Healthcare.gov were up 58% week-over-week and the volume of calls was up 37% week-over-week, he adds.

Despite the increased volume, CMS says the website and call center are operating with minimal wait times.

CMS expects activity to continue through the weekend. “Navigators, brokers, assisters, others are all prepared to help people this weekend,” says Marketplace CEO Kevin Counihan.

Despite the hard deadline of Feb. 15, people who are in line or processing their application at the deadline will be able to continue their enrollment. CMS would not call this an extension, nor say how exactly it would work.

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