Open enrollment for health insurance is underway, including for the Healthcare.gov marketplace implemented as a result of the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”).

Unfortunately, those using the government marketplace to pay out-of-pocket for their own coverage are:

  • More likely to earn lower incomes than average.
  • More likely to expect their own economic situation to get worse in the next 6 months.
  • More dissatisfied with their health care services.
  • Likely to face hikes to their premiums with existing insurers, which will cause them to have to “shop around” for a new, cheaper provider and all the hassles that accompany such a change.

Since the majority of consumers with health coverage must select from options offered by their employer, the marketplace dynamics don’t affect them per se — although some might be feeling uncertainty about whether their employer will be making changes to 2016 plans.

And finally, there remains a group of those uninsured. These folks have even lower incomes, skew younger in age, and feel even worse about their personal economic prospects in the near future. They are also less likely to spend money on holiday shopping this year.

After looking at the attributes of over 3,700 U.S. adults, aged 25 and older, CivicScience put together our latest Insight Report to reveal these insights that anyone in the insurance, healthcare, and even the U.S. Dept. of HHS should be paying attention to.

Check out the full report here.