Gov. Phil Murphy, stating the obvious — that health care has never been as important — promoted the open enrollment period for Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace, on a Tuesday morning virtual event.
New Jersey residents will no longer use HealthCare.gov to enroll in Marketplace health insurance plans. Instead, Marketplace plans and financial help will only be available through Get Covered New Jersey at getcovered.nj.gov.
State officials said they established their own marketplace in order to secure better access to health care for New Jersey residents.
The open enrollment period begins Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, 2021, six weeks longer than last year.
“Get Covered New Jersey provides improved access to quality, affordable health coverage for our residents, as well as an enrollment experience tailored for our state,” Murphy said in a statement. “The launch of our own state marketplace could not come at a more critical time, given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health coverage.
“As the (President Donald) Trump administration continues to attack the ACA, New Jersey is telling a different story. We are able to increase access to health coverage and care because of the work we have done. I encourage all residents who need health coverage to see what Get Covered New Jersey has to offer, so they can get the care they need when they need it.”
Other news Tuesday:
Health metrics
The state reported 1,663 new positive COVID-19 cases, pushing the cumulative total to 231,331. Murphy also announced 14 more fatalities — all of which occurred in the past nine days. The deaths push the state’s fatality total to 14,517.
“These numbers are sobering,” Murphy said in a tweet. “We are still in the midst of a pandemic and need everyone to take this seriously: Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands.”
Voting totals
Murphy announced that 2,647,841 New Jerseyans have already voted — 67% of the total turnout in 2016.
Final word
Murphy, in a tweet, on the two-year anniversary of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh:
“It’s up to all of us to confront hate and anti-Semitism and ensure gun violence stops robbing us of our loved ones.”
