TOPEKA – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released final summary enrollment data on April 3, 2018, for the fifth open enrollment period of the federally facilitated health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This brief, Enrollment in Kansas Marketplace Steady in 2018 Despite Uncertainty and Shortened Sign-Up Period, looks back at the results of this fifth open enrollment period, which was for plan year 2018.

Key points of the brief include:

• Despite a shortened enrollment period and general uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), enrollment in the Kansas marketplace was essentially unchanged in 2018 (98,238 compared to 98,780 in 2017).
• The average monthly premium for a health insurance plan on the Kansas marketplace in 2018 was $624, an increase of $148 (31.1 percent) from 2017.
• However, more than four in five (83.0 percent) Kansans who enrolled in the marketplace received financial assistance in the form of Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTCs).
• The APTC available in 2018 to help offset the cost to low/moderate-income Kansans was $555 per month, an increase of $177 (46.8 percent) from 2017. The net impact was a $25 reduction in the average monthly premium, after the APTC, paid by those receiving APTCs (from $110 in 2017 to $85 in 2018, a reduction of 22.7 percent.)

The Kansas Health Institute (KHI) delivers objective information, conducts credible research, and supports civil dialogue enabling policy leaders to make informed health policy decisions that enhance their effectiveness as champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka.