A new insurance-matching tool similar to Uber car sharing is helping Colorado’s health insurance exchange meet demand during the open enrollment period for people who need to sign up for health coverage, an exchange official said Thursday. And an extended deadline didn’t hurt.
Open enrollment ends in January for Connect for Health Colorado. But Thursday was the deadline for shoppers to have coverage in effect by Jan. 1.
More than 117,000 people had signed up, although exact figures weren’t available, said Connect for Health spokesman Luke Clarke. Connect for Health wants to see 217,000 people signed up by summer. Clarke said the exchange is ahead of last year’s pace.
This year’s enrollment period has been helped, Clarke said, by a new online tool connecting shoppers with insurance brokers. Shoppers fill out a questionnaire and are connected to a possible broker to complete the process. About 7,300 people used the tool.
“It’s kind of like Uber, where you hit the app and the driver comes pick you up,” Clarke said.
