Too Good To Be True?

This year's open enrollment period under the federal Affordable Care Act is coming to a close, but already the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange is touting its enrollment numbers.

As of Jan. 22, the exchange, which recently rebranded itself as BeWellNM, says it's enrolled 43,056 individuals since mid-November. That's more than the 32,062 enrollees the exchange took credit for during last year's open enrollment period, which lasted six months—twice as long as the current enrollment period.

While this year's numbers seem like a significant improvement, Barbara Webber, executive director of Health Action New Mexico advocacy organization, says those stats appear misleading because they include people who signed up for insurance last year and simply re-enrolled this year.

Indeed, Amanda Molina, a spokeswoman for the exchange, tells SFR that more than half of those signed up this year are re-enrollees. Specifically, that number is 57 percent, or more than 24,500 people. In an interview with SFR last month, BeWellNM CEO Amy Dowd said she estimated roughly 166,000 uninsured adults are eligible for coverage through the exchange.

Uninsured New Mexicans, as well as those who need to re-enroll, still have just under two weeks to get health insurance coverage through the exchange. Local community enrollment events are planned from noon-5 pm Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Somos Un Pueblo Unido (1804 Espinacitas St.); noon-5 pm Sunday, Feb. 8 at M & J Bridal Boutique (4250 Cerrillos Road) and 4-8 pm Feb. 15, when an event is also planned at Adelitas Restaurant (3136 Cerrillos Road).

Santa Fe Reporter