The annual open enrollment period for health insurance through the individual marketplace starts Friday. And Granite Staters who get their coverage that way will have more plans to choose from this year, thanks to another insurer entering the market.
The New Hampshire Insurance Department said Friday that WellSense will start offering insurance on the healthcare.gov marketplace, joining the three other companies — Anthem, Ambetter and Harvard Pilgrim – already doing so in the state.
The marketplace offers federally subsidized health insurance to people who don’t have coverage through their job. Congress increased those subsidies during the pandemic, and that remains in effect for 2025.
Most people should be able to find an affordable plan because of those subsidies, said Peter Ames, the executive director of the Foundation for Healthy Communities. The foundation runs a free program, New Hampshire Navigator, that assists people with the process of finding insurance.
“We've heard from consumers in years past that they're often surprised that they're eligible for a lot of these tax credits,” Ames said. “So it's always worth a look to find out what you may be eligible for.”
New Hampshire also has the country’s lowest average premiums for marketplace plans, according to an analysis by the health policy organization KFF – something touted by state insurance commissioner D.J. Bettencourt in a news release Friday.
“Our individual market premiums remain the lowest in the nation, making coverage more accessible to our residents, and the arrival of WellSense Health Plan is a strong indicator of New Hampshire’s market vitality and the positive impact of recent reforms,” Bettencourt said.
Bethany Murabito, senior director for the New Hampshire Navigator program, noted the WellSense entry gives people more options. She also said existing plans can change year to year.
“There's always going to be some minor tweaks and challenges,” she said. “Maybe the name of a plan changes. Maybe co-pays change, or how something is billed changes slightly.”
It’s a good idea, Murabito said, to check that your doctors and hospital are in network, and confirm your plan covers any medications and medical equipment that you need.
This is also the first year that undocumented immigrants protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program can access subsidized plans through the marketplace. (New Hampshire has joined other states in suing to overturn that rule, but it remains in effect for now.)
Open enrollment runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15. People can sign up for a plan at healthcare.gov. Anyone who needs help with that process can contact a trained insurance navigator, for free, by visiting acanavigator.com/nh/home or calling 1-877-211-NAVI.
