HARTFORD, CT — The Access Health CT Board of Directors learned Thursday that since Nov. 1 the exchange has enrolled 4,769 new customers and renewed health insurance policies for 15,034 customers.

Rob Blundo, director of technical operations and analytics for Access Health CT, said those numbers are tracking very closely to last year’s enrollment.

However, that still leaves more than 77,000 customers needing to renew or shop for a new plan by Dec. 15. There are about 5,500 customers who opened their accounts and started shopping for a plan, but haven’t completed the process for enrolling in 2020.

Blundo warned the board not to draw any conclusions from the numbers yet because “it’s still very early” in the enrollment period.

He said the number of customers signing up for plans who qualify for advanced premium tax credits is very close to what it was last year.

“We’ve seen a lower number of people changing plans because of the dynamics in the marketplace,” Blundo said.

An estimated 52% of enrollees are purchasing silver plans, which is higher than they saw last year. That’s because those plans might be more affordable this year for consumers who received a subsidy to lower the amount of their monthly premium.

There were more than 111,000 people who signed up last year for covered with one of the two private insurance carriers in 2019.

Access Health officials believe enrollment will be about the same as it was last year with about 111,000 to 115,000 customers.

For 2020, the exchange will again have two insurance carriers, ConnectiCare and Anthem.

A consumer impact study commissioned by Access Health found that up to half of all exchange consumers – namely, those who receive federal subsidies for their insurance coverage – will see premiums decrease for 2020. But those who don’t receive subsidies are on track to have their monthly premiums rise an average of $116 per month, that same report found.

This year Access Health officials are focusing on uninsured populations.

Connecticut’s uninsured rate was 5.3%, or around 186,000 individuals in 2018. That’s up from an eight-year low of 4.9% in 2016, according to an Access Health CT report on the uninsured population.

“We can tell you within a five square block radius of where the uninsured are living,” Access Health CT CEO James Michel has said.

With that information, officials are hitting the streets armed with information about the plans and their affordability.

An Access Health study found the number one reason people didn’t get insurance is because they assumed coverage would not be affordable.