Nearly 1 million Floridians signed up for an Obamacare plan during the inaugural enrollment period. Another quarter million may be eligible to enroll before the next open enrollment period, an advocacy group estimates.
Enroll America, a non-profit dedicated to signing up Americans, estimates that 222,719 uninsured adults in Florida may qualify for what’s known as a special enrollment period before open enrollment begins Nov. 15. The group is also called Get Covered America.
Special enrollment periods are designed for someone who had a life-changing event that would give them reason to buy health insurance, such as getting married, giving birth, moving or gaining citizenship.
“Over the past few months, Get Covered America has been focused on making sure that the uninsured in Florida know that if they experience a qualifying life event like moving, getting married, or losing their health coverage, they might have the unique opportunity to find quality, affordable health insurance. This new analysis will help us to understand just how many folks we’re targeting through our outreach,” said Florida State Director Nicholas Duran.
The organization used the the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010-2012 American Community Survey and other data to estimate that about 6 percent of the state’s uninsured population would experience a qualifying event. Moving is the most common of those.
