title: Shifting the open enrollment period for ACA Marketplaces could increase enrollment and improve plan choices.
abstract: The next open enrollment period for plans offered in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) insurance Marketplaces is set to occur between November 15, 2014, and February 15, 2015--just when many lower-income people are financially stressed by demands of the holiday season. Recent research by experimental psychologists and behavioral economists strongly suggests that when people's decision-making capacity (bandwidth) is stretched thin, either they cannot make decisions or they make poor choices. Using data from nearly a decade of US-based Internet search queries to measure population behavior, we found considerable seasonality in measures of financial stress and in when people seek out information on health insurance plans. A more opportune time for scheduling open enrollment for the ACA Marketplaces may be between February 15 and April 15--weeks when low-income people typically receive income tax refunds and Earned Income Tax Credit payments. Such lump-sum payments could be applied to pay individuals' share of premiums.
authors: Katherine Swartz (kswartz@hsph.harvard.edu) is a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Katherine
authors: K
authors: Swartz
authors: John A. Graves is an assistant professor in the School of Medicine at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee.
authors: John A
authors: JA
authors: Graves
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000191:economics*; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D062265:Health Insurance Exchanges / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States
keywords: Health Reform; Insurance Coverage < Insurance