New data show that signups for Marketplace insurance plans took another significant jump in Wisconsin during the most recent open enrollment period, and the average monthly premiums are unchanged for people who qualify for premium tax credits.

More specifically, the latest figures released by the Dept. of Health and Human Services for the third open enrollment period (OE3), which ran from Nov. 1, 2015 to Jan. 31, 2016, reveal the following about Marketplace participants and costs in Wisconsin:

• 239,034 Wisconsinites selected plans, a 15% increase from the prior open enrollment period – compared to an increase of about 8.5% nationally.
• The growth was primarily among people over 200% of the poverty level, as shown in the bar graph. (In 2015 the breakout by income wasn’t available in the initial enrollment figures, so for OE2 we used the updated plan selection figures for July 2015.)

• The number of people who selected a plan and will receive financial assistance through tax credits increased by 8%, whereas the number of higher income consumers enrolling in a Marketplace plan without financial assistance increased by 84% — resulting in a drop in the percentage of plan selections that receive financial assistance from 90% last year to 84% now.
• The net cost to Marketplace participants was unchanged ($125 per month), thanks in part to the fact that the average monthly credit increased by 5% to $330.
• 102,785 consumers actively re-enrolled in a Marketplace plan, meaning they signed back into their HealthCare.gov account during open enrollment, which is a 55% increase from last year.
• Among the people who actively re-enrolled, 39% chose a new plan on the Marketplace, and they are saving an average of $653 per year (relative to the cost of not changing plans).

In the months ahead there is likely to be a great deal of debate among politicians about the fate of the Affordable Care Act.  The figures above help illustrate how one of the important parts of the ACA – the subsidized federal Marketplace – affects Wisconsin.

As the political debate proceeds, please carefully consider how candidates’ plans would affect the more than 200,000 Wisconsinites now purchasing Marketplace plans.

Sashi Gregory and Jon Peacock