80K take advantage of YHI open enrollment

Your Health Idaho officials said they processed almost 84,000 customers since 2015 open enrollment began.

“We are happy so many Idahoans have been able to find a health insurance plan that meets their needs, however, we know many more people still need to find coverage and we will continue to reach out to them until open enrollment ends on Feb. 15,” said Your Health Idaho Executive Director Pat Kelly.

Gov. C.L “Butch” Otter also recognized Your Health Idaho’s success as an independent marketplace in Monday’s State of the State address.

“Idaho is now successfully running its own insurance exchange, cheaper, more efficiently, less staff and with better service than the national system that over-promised and profoundly under delivered,” said Otter.

Although YHI has not yet determined how many of their customers are customers who re-enrolled or newly registered, the officials believe they will continue to get a high volume of interest as people approach open enrollment deadline. Idahoans who want health insurance coverage this year will need to pick a health insurance plan no later than Feb. 15, the last day of the open enrollment period.

But even as Your Health Idaho continues to service Idahoans as an independent marketplace, Otter has established a special medicaid working group to look into the benefits of federal-state collaboration toward medicaid expansion.

“I ask you (the legislature) to listen to their findings, ask questions and educate yourselves on all the work they have done and then possibly take action,” said Otter.

While to legislature has not let on to whether the support or oppose medicaid expansion, Your Health Idaho officials said they are more focused on individual matters.

“Right now we are focused on helping consumers focus on what their options are. We’re here to educate them about the plans that are available on Your Health Idaho and encouraging them to work with an agent or broker to find out the plans that best fit their family and their particular situation,” said Kelly.

A poll conducted by Idaho Politics Weekly shows that 61 percent of registered voters in Idaho support expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.