The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been testing a new version of the HealthCare.gov application process on some would-be health insurance buyers over the summer.
The HealthCare.gov system has been offering the revised application process more frequently, on a random basis, this month, and site managers hope to make the approach the standard application process Nov. 15, when the 2015 open enrollment period is set to start.
For now, the consumers using the system are those who have gone through coverage changes or life changes that give them access to special enrollment periods (SEPs).
Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the HHS agency in charge of managing the PPACA exchanges in states with HHS-run exchanges, described the update in a bulletin aimed at the people who help consumers use the exchanges.
Consumers who want to create a HealthCare.gov account can complete a form that takes up just one screen, rather than three. Once a consumer begins applying for coverage, the consumer must start by giving information about matters such as marital status and number of dependents to be insured.