Six weeks into HealthCare.gov Open Enrollment, almost 385,000 are enrolled in N.C. 

NC Navigator Consortium call-in events have generated 3,400 calls alone.

Open Enrollment deadline for coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2024, is Dec. 15, 2023.

Raleigh, N.C. – In partnership with media organizations across the state, two of NC Navigator Consortium call-in events have resulted in a record-breaking number of 3,400 calls to Health Insurance Navigators in just six hours. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) nearly 7.3 million Americans have signed up for 2024 individual market health insurance, and 384,601 of those enrollments happened in North Carolina (as of Dec. 6). While best known for helping N.C. residents find Health Insurance Marketplace® plans during Open Enrollment (which ends Jan. 16, 2024), Health Insurance Navigators are also available to help those eligible for Medicaid year round. Learn more at ncnavigator.net.

For those enrolling in coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace® at HealthCare.gov, there are two important upcoming deadlines:

  • Dec. 15, 2023, is the last day to enroll or update coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2024. 
  • Jan. 16, 2024, is the last day of Open Enrollment. After this date, new policies will only be available to those with qualifying life events or who make 100-150% of the Federal Poverty Level. Policies secured between Dec. 16, 2023, and Jan. 15, 2024, will start Feb. 1, 2024. 

The NC Navigator Consortium enrollees often credit their Navigators with helping them save hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars on Marketplace policies and subsidies that they may not have been able to find on their own. Tax credits and subsidies are still in place from the Inflation Reduction Act, meaning 80% of enrollees getting covered for $10 or less each month. Consumers appreciate that their Navigators show them all their options, and check to ensure their providers and prescriptions are covered on the plan they select.

Started in 2014, the NC Navigator Consortium is the only federally funded Navigator entity in the state that serves all 100 counties across North Carolina. Learn more at ncnavigator.net, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Members of the Consortium are Access East, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Cumberland HealthNET, HealthCare Access, HealthNet Gaston, Kintegra Health, Mountain Projects, NC Field and Pisgah Legal Services. The Consortium is led by Legal Aid of North Carolina

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Learn more at legalaidnc.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube

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The project described was supported by Funding Opportunity number NAVCA210405-03-00 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies.