CT Leads in Overcoming ACA Enrollment Problems- Health Minute for February 20, 2014

One state has figured out how to resolve the problems that have afflicted the new health insurance marketplaces mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Connecticut’s exchange has reached 238 percent of its target for enrollment, according to a state-by-state scorecard by the Department of Health and Human Services that shows how federal and state exchanges are performing. By contrast, Massachusetts, with a health insurance program similar to the ACA in place for years before the ACA was passed, has met only five percent of its target. Connecticut reached its March enrollment target last December. How does the Constitution State do it? By imitating a successful sales model, the Apple Store. Access Health CT opened Apple-inspired storefronts where applicants could walk in and talk with “assisters” trained to explain the many enrollment options. The employees are trained to greet prospective enrollees in a friendly manner, clearly explain their health insurance options under the ACA in plain English, and make sure the consumer walks out of the store with the right product. That’s pretty much the template for the Apple stores’ success. And the numbers prove it: Connecticut’s health stores are enrolling 300 to 400 people daily, a large number for a small state. Significantly, 72 percent of those customers report that they would recommend the exchange to a friend or family member. The average retail store’s score is 57 percent.

I’m John Howell for 3BL Media.