This weekend is the deadline to buy health insurance through the federal marketplace. Utah's second open enrollment period for insurance through the Affordable Care Act closes on February 15th.
Jason Stevenson works with Utah Health Policy Project, one of the outfits that’s been helping people sign up for insurance in the ACA marketplace. He says more than 124,000 Utahns have signed up, and they’re still coming.
“It has been crazy busy,” Stephenson says. “We have people lined up out the door, kids playing with toys all over the floor, multiple people signing up at the same time. We’re running out of chairs, we’re running out of computers. This really is the deadline crunch we’ve seen in previous years, and it’s happening all over again.”
Stevenson says he’s been surprised by the new populations across the state that have enrolled. “People living in Utah County, and Washington County, and in Davis County - places where I’m sure Obamacare isn’t very popular - and yet we’re noticing that’s where thousands of Utahns are signing up for insurance, including many families with kids.”
Stevenson says children account for 33% of all new enrollment in 2015, more than twice the national average. Many enrollment centers are open through the weekend. More information is available at TakeCareUtah.org or by calling 211.
