Kentucky health insurance exchange enrolls 32,000 in first month

Over 32,000 enrolled in health coverage in kynect’s first month

Kentucky’s health exchange, kynect, enrolled about 1,000 Kentuckians each day into new health coverage in its first month of operation – about one-third of whom are under the age of 35.

kynect has been hailed as a national model since its launch Oct. 1 for its continuous smooth operation and easy interface for users looking for affordable health coverage.

“People who say the Affordable Care Act doesn’t work need look no further than Kentucky. Not only is it working here, Kentuckians are still stampeding to the website and call center to find affordable health coverage,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “The fact that so many Kentuckians are actively seeking health coverage for themselves, their families and their employees tells us that kynect is meeting a gaping need in our state. At long last, every Kentuckian can finally find affordable health insurance.”

Data from the first month of operation show:

• People have signed up for health coverage in every county in Kentucky.
• Highest enrollment numbers so far are in Jefferson (5,200) and Fayette (1,698) counties.
• 41 percent of total enrollees are under 35 years of age. About 23 percent are 25 years old or younger.
• The silver level plans are most popular at nearly 43 percent of enrollment, followed by platinum level at 26 percent, gold at 16 percent, and bronze at 13 percent. Catastrophic plans, available to residents under the age of 30, were 1.7 percent of enrollments.
• Slightly more women (59 percent) have signed up than men (41 percent).
• Approximately 1 out of every 5 enrollments so far is for a qualified health plan, including dental plans. However, approximately 9,000 pending enrollments have qualified for subsidies, many of which we expect will be complete before the Dec. 15 deadline for enrollment for coverage by Jan. 1.

The below statistics reflect activity on kynect as of Friday morning, Nov. 1:

• 370,363 unique visitors to the website, viewing 9,085,710 million web pages
• 318,810 people conducted preliminary screenings to determine qualifications for subsidies, discounts or programs like Medicaid
• 32,485 enrolled in new health coverage, including Medicaid and private insurance
• 1,700 standalone dental plans enrolled
• 27,854 have enrolled in Medicaid and 4,631 have enrolled in a qualified health plan.
• 13,900 have been found eligible for a subsidy to purchase a qualified health plan, but some have not yet chosen a plan.

For further updates on kynect numbers, visit governor.ky.gov/healthierky. Statistics will be updated there regularly.