Open enrollment is underway as people in Wisconsin and across the country can enroll in insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but the number of people signing up is on the decline.
In 2018, 225,435 people enrolled in the ACA, but a year later Wisconsin saw about 20,000 fewer people participating, according to healthinsurance.org.
But Wisconsin is not alone. Nationally, millions of people are not signing up.
Numbers from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services show in 2018, 11.8 million people enrolled. A year later that number was only 8.5 million.
This year, there is a new rule as people were not penalized if they did not sign up for health insurance.
One reason health experts believe fewer people are signing up is because of the uncertainty surrounding the ACA. The 5th Circuit is expected to issue a decision on a lower court ruling that overturned the ACA, in a case known as Texas vs. the United States.
Another factor for the decline is the length of open enrollment — the deadline is December 15th which falls on a Sunday.
To read more go to WKOW: https://wkow.com/news/top-stories/2019/11/01/open-enrollment-begins-wisconsin-sees-drops-in-aca-participation/