Salt Lake City on the National List of Target Cities for ACA Enrollment

***COUNTDOWN TO OPEN ENROLLMENT***

CMS Announces Target Markets for Open Enrollment 2017

Local Partnerships and Focused Communication Will Help Drive Enrollment

Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced 15 target markets for this year’s Open Enrollment. As in previous years, the target markets will be a particular focus for outreach, travel, and collaborations with local partners, also in addition to other nationwide efforts to step up outreach.  

“We look forward to engaging Americans all across the country in Open Enrollment beginning November 1, but we are especially excited for a major outreach push in these 15 terrific markets where we’ve seen success in the past and where the potential for enrollment growth remains high,” said Kevin Counihan, CEO of the Marketplace. “Local partnerships and focused communications will ensure that residents of these metro areas know that affordable coverage is available and that we’re here to help them enroll.”

The top 15 target markets for Open Enrollment  this year are: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL; Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL: Orlando-Daytona-Melbourne, FL; Northern New Jersey; Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Charlotte, NC; Detroit, MI; Salt Lake City, UT; Phoenix, AZ; St. Louis, MO; and San Antonio, TX.  These markets were selected based on three criteria: (1) they present strong opportunities for meaningful enrollment increases; (2) high percentage of eligible uninsured; and (3) Open Enrollment has been successful in these metro areas in the past.  

Market	Open Enrollment 3 Plan Selections
Miami, FL	643,911
Dallas, TX	382,669
Atlanta, GA	443,720
Houston, TX	346,822
Tampa, FL	284,753
Orlando, FL	329,684
Northern New Jersey	228,538
Chicago, IL	310,523
Philadelphia, PA	291,175
Charlotte, NC	208,622
Detroit, MI	180,516
Salt Lake City, UT	176,096
Phoenix, AZ	144,196
St Louis, MO	134,934
San Antonio, TX	120,351
TOTAL	4,226,510

We expect those numbers to grow this year, since these markets together still include more than 3 million Marketplace-eligible uninsured Americans.

While the uninsured rate has fallen to the lowest level on record, there are still too many Americans who remain uninsured and experience health and financial hardships resulting from lack of coverage. And, experts continue to find that nearly half of uninsured adults are unaware of the financial assistance available to help pay for health insurance.  About 85 percent of Marketplace-eligible uninsured Americans could qualify for financial help.  To get the word out, focused outreach in the top 15 target markets will heighten awareness of coverage options in these key metro areas and complement nationwide outreach efforts.

No one has more influence and understanding of their community than local organizations. We will be working with groups on the ground to get the word out about affordable coverage and helping people to enroll.  On top of that, our outreach efforts in these markets will benefit from more travel, more advertising, and more earned media.

Read the entire announcement.