Americans procrastinated enrolling in health care — and Texans are no exception. With just a month left to sign up, more people enrolled after March 1 than in the first five months of open enrollment. The total number of Texans to sign up through the federal marketplace is 733,757.
Sometimes the best motivation is a deadline. After a slow start, three-quarters of a million Texans signed up for health insurance on the federal marketplace for the entire enrollment period and special extensions. Like in other states, many people waited until the last few weeks to select a plan.
Sixty-seven percent of Texans who selected a plan on the marketplace chose silver plans, while 23 percent selected bronze plans.
Perhaps most noteworthy is the higher than anticipated percentage of “young invincibles,” people between the ages of 18 and 34, who signed up. In Texas, that number was 30 percent, or 217,652 people. Nationwide, it was slightly lower, at 28 percent.
