Posted on 12/02/2013 3:08:34 PM PST by Kaslin
Remember, the administration is counting people who've selected plans through Healthcare.gov and placed them in virtual shopping carts as "enrollments," so this metric is both overly generous and quite misleading. To be fully enrolled, consumers need to select plans, receive confirmation from insurers, and make their first premium payment. To be covered by the first of the year, consumers must complete that end-to-end process within the next few weeks. Obamacare's website is working better on the front end -- although problems still persist -- but it's not "fixed" by any stretch. Back end flaws could create migrane-inducing backlogs on the insurer side of the enrollment equation, jamming up the entire operation. How many people are actually honest-to-goodness enrolled in Obamacare? We have no idea. We can only speculate based upon the administration's goosed numbers. So what to make of this news?
About 100,000 people signed up for health insurance through the online federal exchange last month, a roughly four-fold increase from October even as a team of U.S. government and contractor programmers was fixing the troubled Affordable Care Act website, said a person familiar with program’s progress. The preliminary November numbers reflect individuals who successfully selected a plan. The administration expects that most consumers will sign up early next year as the enrollment period nears its March 31 close, said the person who asked for anonymity because the final numbers were still being calculated.
October's number was a pathetic 27,000 -- so breaking into six figures in November obviously represents a relative improvement. But it's equally obvious that this figure is objectively terrible. The administration hoped to have 800,000 Americans fully enrolled in Obamacare by the end of November. If Bloomberg's scoop is correct, Team Obama is less than 20 percent of where they need to be by now, at least through the federal site. They've achieved roughly three percent of their overall 2014 enrollment projection of seven million. Also missing from the official numbers is a sense of the all-important demographic composition of the risk pool. Early indicators on that front have been worrisome. Despite the government's braggadocio about the new and improved Healthcare.gov, White House officials have quietly decided not to launch a major enrollment PR campaign -- a sure sign that the system's technological advances are tenuous. Indeed, Sebelius and friends are recommending that Americans attempt to sign up during off-peak hours, an odd request if the system is "90 percent" repaired. Officials are also wavering on their own assertions, such as claims that the site can handle 50,000 concurrent users, resulting in a seamless experience for 80 percent of consumers. Which brings us back to those pesky back end troubles. John Dickerson describes the backlog problem I referenced above:
Insurance company sources tell the National Journal that there is still about a 5 percent error rate in the information the site submits to insurance companies on behalf of those picking a new insurance plan. If the site is fixed but this problem is not, the problem could get worse. People would sign on, fill out the forms, and insurance companies would be flooded with bad data. That would delay insurance companies sending out bills, which is the necessary step required for a person to actually have insurance by Jan. 1. For those in the individual market who have coverage now, if they don’t sign up by that deadline, they will be exposed.
Team O has made upgrading average people's online experience a top priority, which makes sense politically. If people are still banging their heads up against relentless error messages into mid-December, the headlines will be disastrous. But even if the front end mess is tidied up, the subsequent crush of new applications threatens to overwhelm insurance companies with corrupted data -- which will, in turn, prevent the enrollment process from moving forward properly. In other words, improved site capacity and fewer people stuck in 404 purgatory are positive signs for Obamacare, but that progress could easily be stunted or reversed by complex back end failures. These issues will be less visible to average people at first, but the ship still sinks if there are leaks in key compartments. People are either insured, or they're not. Obama may spare himself some political pain in the short term by focusing on cosmetic fixes, but what happens when newly uninsured people (thanks to Obamacare) aren't covered in time for the new year and suffer health emergencies? I'll leave you with this. Ta-da:
http://t.co/J3UFQVEjIJ "has a lot of visitors right now," offering option for users to leave email, come back later pic.twitter.com/QT9BOEepFt — Jim Acosta (@JimAcostaCNN) December 2, 2013
That's the front end, folks.
UPDATE - One more point of perspective: As of early November, five million people had lost their coverage under Obamacare -- a number that has surely grown. Based on the data above, roughly 130,000 have gained coverage through Healthcare.gov. Disaster.
What to do.
It must really suck when you are trying to rally the troops in your effort to “fundamentally” change the country,,,,,,
And NOBODY SHOWS UP !!!!!
Maybe there's still hope for this great nation?
Rest assured that they will count them a second time, if/when they do decide to buy.
I have placed 230,456 items in my shopping carts all over the internet.
But Have not given them my credit card information or paid them. But according to democrats, there is huge amount of shopping going on!
Hope ?
Maybe.
They will get Beyonce and another dozen or so Twerkers to further promote self destruction.
Early adopters will be Obamabot believers plus the very sick and those getting Medicaid. It may very well be that these are peak numbers and people figure any penalty will be revoked.
Brought to you by the letter `T’.
Obamacare: “It’s up!”
Obamacare: “Tits up!”
T-EA party
Too bad, Barry.
Liar, liar, pants on fire. Does anyone not insane believe anything these clowns say...ANYTHING?
ROTFL! This info is from the same jackasses who told you that if you like your health insurance plan, you can keep you health insurance plan, PERIOD! HEE HAW!
It should be noted that by next September, Democrats will be saying that electing a Republican will result in your health insurance being cancelled. Repubs better have a good response by then, and a backbone to use it.
51% have shown up and voted for this clown twice.
I’d say some have shown up.
Just have the NSA or the IRS sign up for you. I'm sure they have the correct information.
OBAMACARE DOESN’T HAVE TO WORK TO WORK. BECAUSE....IT IS ABOUT RAISING MONEY WITH THE IRS FINES.
The more people that don’t sign up the more money the government will be able to fine American Citizens. One percent of your yearly income the first year and increasingly more each following year. .....Mucho Dinero
Its not about health care, nor insurance...its about raising mo money....Ted Cruz was right.
Correction...only 47% showed up and voted for the community organizer from south side of Chicago. The other 4% was fraudulent votes.
I thought the site was shut down and wasn’t working in November?
Ok, lets say for the sake of argument, that this number is true...Cough, gag, spit...Nevermind...
They may have “signed up”...
But how many have “paid” for it so far???
Nobody seems to be tracking that little tidbit of information, that should be being reported...
Devil is in those details...That’s fer sure, that’s fer dang sure!!!
About 100,000 people signed up for health insurance through the online federal exchange last month, a roughly four-fold increase from October.... The preliminary November numbers reflect individuals who successfully selected a plan.
~~~~~~~~~~~
And then, after all of that, how many of those people know what they actually "selected" or "purchased"? choice of doctors, specialists, hospitals, etc? For example, in some cases, the insured will need to travel to another county to find an in-network hospital listed under their plan.
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