Enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace continues its upward trend, exceeding 4.2 million in February. This is a nearly 1.0 million increase since January. This SHADAC infographic provides a quick summary of both the federal and state numbers for February.
The Young Adult Story
The enrollment of young adults (ages 18-34) in the Marketplace continues to be a particular point of interest given the lower risk profile of this population, and the outlook is positive on this front:
- As in January, young adult enrollment comprised 27 percent of total enrollment in February. This represents a three percentage point increase over the 24 percent seen in the fourth quarter of 2013.
- Cumulative total enrollment for young adults grew 33 percent in February, compared to a 30 percent increase for all other age groups
Based on previous experience in places such as Massachusetts, we expect that young adults will accelerate their enrollment toward the end of the open enrollment period, further spreading the age distribution of enrollees and mitigating the risk profile of the Marketplace.
Related: White House Reaches out to "Young Invisibles"
The Obama Administration stepped up its efforts to reach out to young adults--or "young invisibles"--yesterday, with President Obama appearing on the Funny Or Die web video series “Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis,” to plug Healthcare.gov. Following the release of the clip, traffic to Healthcare.gov jumped 40 percent. Check out the video below.