A tense OE5 - and a short one
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An anonymous but timely flier seen on Chicago storefront and lamp posts |
Drama and anxiety attended the start of open enrollment period, which began with decimated funding for outreach and assistance and a ban on HHS staff participating in state enrollment event
s
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So far, though, the numbers have been surprising. HealthCare.gov enrollment is 47% higher than for the same period last year, and average daily signups by new consumers are up 53% over last year. T
he trend in Illinois is similar. Awareness of the ACA may, in fact, have had an unintended boost from all the dramatic attempts to repeal it.
But despite this good news, the absense of TV ads and a concerted publicity campaign is having its effect. In a recent Kaiser survey, 3 in 10 respondents said they hadn't heard anything about open enrollment. Almost half said they've heard less about it than last year.
Less than a month now remains before the December 15th cutoff, so anything you can do to raise awareness in your county or your neighborhood - by all means, do it ASAP. ICHA has free materials you can request (
http://www.ilcha.org) - or make your own, like these enterprising Chicago leafletters did. Bless their hearts.
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