Nearly 11.8 million people selected a 2018 health plan during open enrollment, based on new data from the National Academy for State Health Policy that includes all U.S. states. Plan selections in the 17 state-based marketplaces (including those that use the federal HealthCare.gov platform) rose by 0.19%, while selections in the 34 states that use the federally-facilitated marketplace fell by 5.3%. “For the first time we now have the full national picture of how the individual marketplaces did this year and it is a picture of remarkable stability,” said NASHP Executive Director Trish Riley. “Despite all the uncertainty and challenges we have seen, particularly for consumers living in states supported by state-based marketplaces, we see millions of Americans continuing to benefit from the coverage they get in the individual market.”

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