More than 12,000 West Virginians enrolled in individual health coverage for the first time this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.
Nationally, nearly 5 million people gained new coverage during the Affordable Care Act's third open enrollment period, which ended on Jan. 31, and a total of 12.7 million signed up or were re-enrolled in coverage, according to HHS.
Terri Giles, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, said more than 37,000 West Virginians enrolled or re-enrolled in coverage during the 2016 open enrollment period, the first year that West Virginians were offered plans by more than one carrier in several counties.
CareSource, an Ohio-based health maintenance company, joined the West Virginia market this year in Brooke, Cabell, Hancock, Kanawha, Lincoln, Marshall, Mason, Ohio, Putnam and Wayne counties.
"The ACA has been effective in West Virginia and good for West Virginians," she said. "We only have two carriers in West Virginia, and I think that has made the difference. [CareSource] is going to extend further across the state ... competition is good for cost containment."
This year, the tax penalty for forgoing health insurance is 2.5 percent of a person's income or $695 per adult, whichever is higher.
Giles said a majority of West Virginians who enrolled in individual coverage were eligible for tax credits that lower their premiums.
In West Virginia, the average tax credit was $387 per month, or 71 percent of the total premium, and the average premium after tax credits was $155 per month; 59 percent of the state's customers had the option of selecting a 2016 Marketplace plan with a premium of $75 or less per month after tax credits. This year, West Virginians who switched issuers as well as plans saved $29 per month, or nearly $354 annually for the same level of coverage, according to HHS.
"I go back to when I was living in California and had a foundation paying for my coverage, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and it was more than $1,000 [a month]. When I moved back to West Virginia and looked into it, it was even more. Now it's gone from more than $1,000 - same coverage, same plan - to $544," Giles said.
"I still don't like paying it, and I don't get subsidies, but I get it. It's cheaper for me than it was before, and add to that the benefit of people who were never able to get coverage before finally reaching out."
The number of West Virginians who enrolled in an individual plan increased by roughly 10 percent from last year, and one-third of enrollees were new to the marketplace, Giles said. The number of younger enrollees in the state has also increased slightly, and Giles said she's hopeful that the ACA and Medicaid will be able to reach even more West Virginians in the long-term.
"We did an OK job with those under 18 to 44... we had 37 percent in that age bracket," she said. "It's all good news, and we're very excited that West Virginia is getting into the 90th percentile in terms of coverage - through the marketplace, through Medicaid and CHIP, and through Medicare.
"We're getting there, but we still have people who need covered."
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nuzum@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @lydianuzum on Twitter.