Increasing Health Insurance Enrollment Among Uninsured Americans

Increasing Health Insurance Enrollment Among Uninsured Americans

This randomized evaluation used behaviorally-informed letters to increase health insurance take-up on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces.

During Open Enrollment Periods for the ACA Marketplaces, qualifying individuals can purchase health insurance plans through the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace (FHIM). As of early February 2015, many people had visited HealthCare.gov and started an online account, but not yet selected a plan. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES), developed and sent letters to assist these individuals with completing their enrollment before the deadline.

To evaluate the effect of the letters, the team used a randomized controlled trial.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Those with an English language preference; those who had not enrolled in an ACA plan as of early February 2015

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those with a Spanish language preference

This intervention was a program evaluation and did not go through Human Subjects Protection Review.