Jan. 14--So far during Obamacare open enrollment, Land of Lincoln Health has signed up 27,500 Illinoisans for coverage, the company said Wednesday, a marked increase over last year.
Other insurance companies, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare, Time Insurance and IlliniCare Health did not have enrollment numbers available. Aetna said it could not break down enrollment numbers by state.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that 272,623 people in Illinois have enrolled through public insurance exchanges so far, which means Land of Lincoln attracted about 10 percent of overall enrollees. They are guaranteed to be covered by Feb. 1. The deadline to sign up for health insurance on Healthcare.gov is Feb. 15.
"We're obviously very excited and encouraged by the enrollment trends that we're seeing," Land of Lincoln president Jason Montrie said. "We're proving to be a plan that's very attractive to families, individuals and businesses."
In 2014, just more than 4,000 people signed up for plans with Land of Lincoln, the startup insurer that benefited in part from a $160 million federal loan. The company's goal is at least 50,000, Montrie said.
Montrie credited two factors for boosting enrollment: A reduction of up to 30 percent on monthly premiums and increased transparency of the plans.
Land of Lincoln offers 88 plans, some of which are "preferred partner" plans that include network hospitals and doctors such as Presence Health, Adventist Midwest Health and Swedish Covenant Hospital.
Land of Lincoln said 250 companies had selected its plans for their employees. Last year? Just "a handful," Montrie said.
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