PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island’s health insurance exchange saw a nearly 5 percent increase in enrollment this year.
HealthSource RI says on Monday that 30,637 people enrolled and paid for 2018 coverage, up from 29,224 last year.
More than 8,000 of those customers were new to the exchange, and 35 percent of those were ages 18 to 34, the age range that includes typically healthier people who use less medical services. HealthSource RI Director Zachary Sherman says that helps the stability of the market.
The marketplace adopted higher rates this year because the Trump administration ended cost-sharing subsidies to insurers.
But it says the increase will be offset by tax credits for many customers after the exchange and state insurance officials took steps to increase financial assistance for Rhode Islanders by 46 percent.
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