Connector Updates for April 12, 2014

Total for the period of Apr. 6, 2014 through Apr. 12, 2014

• 5,658 Unique Visitors to HawaiiHealthConnector.com
• 2,740 Calls received by our Customer Support Center

Total since October 1, 2013

• 29,314 Applications completed in the Individual Marketplace
• 8,182 Enrollments in the Individual Marketplace   (7,596 as of March 31 = gain 586)
• 563 Employers applied to SHOP Marketplace  (544 as of March 31 = gain 19)
• 31 Community Partners statewide
• 132 Certified Kōkua or In-Person Assisters
• 40 Certified Kōkua or Certified Application Counselors (CACs)
• 265,450 Unique Visitors to HawaiiHealthConnector.com 
• 98,613 Calls received by our Customer Support Center

  *   *   *   *   *

RELEASE: Hawai‘i Health Connector Urges Applicants to Complete Enrollment Process by April 30, 2014

Enrollment Figure Anticipated to Potentially Increase If Consumers Take Action

Ness Release from Hawaii Health Connector

HONOLULU, HI (April 15, 2014) – Hawaii residents who have started the process of applying for health insurance coverage through the Hawai‘i Health Connector before March 31, but were not able to select a plan can still receive coverage if they complete their enrollment by April 30, 2014.

In late March, the Connector offered a grace period to those who were unable to complete their enrollment before the end of the open enrollment. The original grace period ends today, April 15, but the Connector is extending the grace period to give consumers an opportunity to obtain coverage.

“Over the past several weeks, the Connector team has been reaching out to assist those with completing their enrollment,” said Tom Matsuda, Hawai‘i Health Connector interim executive director.  “This will be the last chance for many individuals and families to enroll.”  

Matsuda pointed out April 30 is the absolute deadline to complete enrollment to avoid tax penalties and that there will be no further extensions.  Individuals will have to wait until the next open enrollment period that begins on November 15 to apply for health coverage unless they are waiting to determine if they are eligible for tax subsidies or have special circumstances such as a change in employment or marital status.

To date, the Connector has helped more than 8,100 enroll in a health plan, and has the potential to increase this number by the end of this month if those who started an application complete their enrollment and select a health plan, Matsuda said.

In addition to those who started the application process, the Connector has also begun to help those who filed a “save my place in line” form, which functioned as an attestation to document that they were interested in a health plan through the Connector but had not yet started the application process by March 31.

Applicants can fast-track their enrollment by visiting a community partner for face-to-face, personalized assistance.  Visit the Hawai‘i Health Connector website at www.HawaiiHealthConnector.com and click on the Marketplace Assister tab to find a convenient community partner by zip code.

Alternatively, applicants may also visit the Hawai‘i Health Connector website at or call the Connector’s customer support center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week at 877-628-5076 or TTY/TDD at 855-585-8604.

#  #  #

About the Hawai‘i Health Connector

The Hawai‘i Health Connector is the online health insurance marketplace for Hawai‘i. The Connector was established as a non-profit organization in 2011 by the Hawai‘i State Legislature through Act 205, in order to comply with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010. The Connector’s aim is an online marketplace that is of Hawai‘i-for-Hawai‘i, one that takes into account the State’s unique culture and works with the Prepaid Health Care Act, an employer mandate for health insurance coverage in effect since 1974. For more information, visit www.HawaiiHealthConnector.com.

  *   *   *   *   *

Matsuda Health Connector Expects 9,000 Enrollments

PBN: Tom Matsuda, interim executive director of the Hawaii Health Connector, is anticipating that the online health insurance marketplace will end up with 9,000 individual enrollees from the first open enrollment period that  ended on March 31....

“When I started in early December, we had about 600 enrollments, and obviously the first few months of operations were pretty rough. But we finished with more than 7,000 enrollments — now more than 8,000 — and we are still continuing to process enrollments,” he said. “There is always room for improvement, but I think we got close to the target on the individual marketplace, and when you combine it with new Medicaid enrollments, we actually did pretty well considering the small potential in number of enrollees who are uninsured.”

WT: Hawaii, D.C. give residents two more weeks to sign up under Obamacare

read ... Tom Matsuda on Hawaii Health Connector enrollment