Need more proof that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is having widespread impact on the American public? A study that sorted demand by zip code tells us that 99 percent of U.S. zip codes showed an increase in exchange plan selection this year over last.
One slice of this study by HealthPocket that's worth a closer look is the 50 zip codes that showed a decrease in plan selection. Of those, 41 were Detroit zip codes, suggesting that the Motor City somehow missed the massive second-year health insurance marketing blitz unleashed by the White House.
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HealthPocket posited that Detroit's depopulation may be the cause of the decline.
"Zip code 48204 in Detroit had a 31 percent drop in healthcare.gov plan selections in 2015 as compared to 2014, the largest percentage drop of any zip code examined," HealthPocket said. "Detroit also had the distinction of encompassing half the zip codes within the list of 50 zip codes with decreased consumer demand for health insurance on Healthcare.gov. Population decreases likely contributed to the drop in Detroit's health insurance plan selections for 2015. Detroit's population has been declining at an average rate of 7,500 people per year since 2010."
The other zip codes that showed a decline didn't disclose any clear pattern. Two were in New Hampshire, the rest in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Mississippi, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, and New Mexico.
Of the zip codes with highest increases, eight of the top 10 were in Florida, with one reporting a 99 percent increase. Texas and George zip codes rounded out the top 10.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
