FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2020
Contact: Juan Ramiro Sarmiento
(785) 760-6567 | juan.sarmiento@younginvincibles.org

COVID Pandemic Drives Increase in ACA Enrollment, Despite Trump Administration’s Sabotage of the Law

(Washington, DC) – Friday evening, CMS released preliminary enrollment data for the states that use the federally-facilitated marketplace, HealthCare.Gov, with over 8.2 million people signing up for health coverage. This marks an increase in enrollment for the first time in four years of the Trump Administration. Over the previous 12 months, Americans faced an unprecedented public health crisis in the Covid-19 global pandemic – illustrating the continued vital necessity of health care coverage for all.

In response, Erin Hemlin, Health Policy and Advocacy Director for Young Invincibles issued the following statement.

“The huge success of this open enrollment period once again demonstrates the crucial role the ACA marketplaces play as a safety net, providing access to comprehensive coverage to millions when they need it most. It’s no surprise that the massive coverage losses and economic downturn led to the first increase in enrollment in the Trump-era.

We are energized to see our advocacy efforts for increased health care coverage pay off as open enrollment figures increased for the first time in years. Plan selection during the Open Enrollment period showed 8.2 million people signing up for health coverage in the HealthCare.gov states, with states like Texas seeing a 15 percent increase from the previous year.

While this data demonstrates the ACA’s importance in providing health coverage to millions, there are likely many more who are still falling through the cracks. The Trump administration made no additional efforts to spread the word about open enrollment, did not increase any outreach or advertising efforts, or take any action beyond previous years to help people get covered. It’s likely that enrollment should have been even higher given the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. It’s time to restore funding for outreach and enrollment support, and we stand ready to work with the Biden administration to ensure that every young adult has access to affordable, comprehensive coverage without worry that their coverage will be jeopardized by petty politics.”

Every year, Young Invincibles leads a year-round campaign to increase access to health coverage, particularly among young people. 2020 was no different. Through our digital ad campaign using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, we reached 10.5 million young adults with information about open enrollment. This campaign had more than 25 million impressions and engagement from more than 130,000 young adults. We also sent over 29,000 text messages to consumers reminding them about key dates and deadlines.

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