Changing Awareness of the Health Insurance Marketplace.

The Health Insurance Marketplace was designed to increase the affordability of health insurance. The success of the marketplace depends on people's awareness and use of it. In a statewide mail survey of West Virginians, we found that respondents' awareness of the West Virginia Health Insurance Marketplace increased from 2013 to 2014. However, large percentages of respondents continued to be unaware of the availability of federal subsidies and were unsure of their personal eligibility for these subsidies. It is essential that awareness and enrollment efforts continue and that they be expanded in novel ways to continue growth in access to health insurance through the marketplace.