Affordable Care Act enrollment jumped nearly 50% in Duval County, outpacing rest of state

Mayor Donna Deegan's promotion of the Affordable Care Act helped drive a big jump in sign-ups that saw nearly 50% more Duval County residents get that coverage for what's sometimes called Obamacare in this year's open enrollment period, a surge that was well ahead of growth statewide.

Deegan has used the enrollment results to say the number of Duval County residents without health insurance dropped dramatically. But the federal data does not say how many of those who signed up for Affordable Care Act coverage previously were uninsured, making it impossible to quantify the change on that score.

Deegan, a breast cancer survivor, said during her campaign for mayor that Jacksonville has some of the best healthcare facilities anywhere but the city still has some of the worst health outcomes because too many residents don't have access to medical care. Her first citywide health initiative was the launch in November of Get Covered Jax providing links and answers for Duval County residents about getting health insurance from the Florida Health Insurance Marketplace.

During the 2024 open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act plans, Duval County accounted for 163,184 consumers of all ages, compared to 109,287 during the 2023 open enrollment, according to figures recently released by the federal government.

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Florida had a 30% increase in consumers signing up, so even as the Affordable Care Act continued to expand its coverage statewide at a rapid pace, Duval County enrollments grew at a faster clip. The growth rate for Duval County was higher than any other big urban county.

Deegan said the enrollment numbers show that when people were able to learn about the coverage available to them, they acted on it.

“I often say that a confused mind says ‘no,’ and this campaign provided important information for our citizens so they could say ‘yes’ to enrolling in health insurance," she said.

The enrollment numbers beat expectations and the city will "keep beating the drum" for people to check out the health insurance option next year, said Dr. Sunil Joshi, chief health officer on the mayor's staff.

"I was happily surprised," he said of the figures released by the federal government for enrollment numbers at the county level.

A city-sponsored website, social media, outreach to faith centers, fliers and news media interviews were part of the city's strategy for Get Covered Jax. WJXT-TV spread the word during its news broadcasts by setting up phone banks in its studio for people to call and get more information about health insurance options. The city didn't use a paid marketing campaign.

"Certainly, the city did a tremendous job of recognizing this is something that will benefit their citizens and getting the word out," said Joyce Case, program director for the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida.

She said the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida also has been able to increase the number of events and outreach it does over the past three years with its staff of navigators, the title for people who work across the country to give information about the Affordable Care Act coverage options.

In addition, the federal government increased tax credits to make the coverage more affordable. The end of pandemic-related expansion of Medicaid coverage also contributed to higher enrollment as people sought to keep health insurance coverage after they no longer were eligible for Medicaid.

Deegan said the signups during the open enrollment period resulted in a 34% drop in the number of Duval County residents who lack health insurance, which would be an unprecedented year-over-year improvement.

However, the federal data does not have any figures for how many people who enrolled in Affordable Care Act coverage did not previously have health insurance. That makes it impossible to quantify the impact on the ranks of the uninsured in Duval County.

Deegan's assertion is based on the mayor's office saying Duval County had about 120,000 people without health insurance when she launched Get Covered Jax in November and "that number has gone down by 40,276 — a 34% decrease in uninsured individuals."

"Great job and thank you Jacksonville!" the city's official social media account posted on X.

The federal government does show there were 40,276 "new enrollees" in Duval County. But those new enrollees are a mix of residents who previously didn't have insurance along with others who did have insurance but were new to signing up for Affordable Care Act coverage in Duval County.

They could have previously had coverage from employee-sponsored health insurance or Medicaid or even had an Affordable Care Act plan while living in other states. When they moved to Florida, they got counted as new enrollees when they signed up here.

Case said it's not possible to say that each new enrollee equates to one less uninsured person.

"That would be great if that were the case, but there are other variables that play into that number and it's just not a direct one-to-one relation," she said.

Joshi said the Affordable Care Act plans offer different levels of coverage that are similar to what people can get from employer-provided insurance and are accepted in the same way at doctor's offices.

He said expanding health insurance will help reduce the cost of providing medical care through high-cost emergency room visits because people can get treatment at doctor's offices by using the insurance.

"That's one of the ways that we can see that this is working," he said.

Even though open enrollment has ended, people meeting certain eligibility criteria can continue to enroll throughout the year. They can get more information by calling (866) 295-5955 for assistance from a navigator.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville mayor's backing of Obamacare spikes enrollment