Posted on 01/26/2014 11:33:08 AM PST by Kaslin
Pop the cork, America! The Obamacare exchanges crossed the three million enrollee threshold late last week, according to an HHS press release hailing the "milestone." Actually, you might want to keep that champagne on ice for the time being. Phil Klein:
About 3 million Americans have now signed up for insurance through President Obama's health care law since the debut of the law's exchanges on Oct. 1, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday. HHS did not specify when the exchanges hit the 3 million mark. Department spokeswoman Joanne Peters replied by email: "We hit 3 (million) this week, don’t have an exact date." But there's also an important caveat. HHS still hasn't disclosed how many of those who have selected a plan through the health care law have actually paid for it, which is how insurers typically define enrollment.
Yeah, remember this? The administration doesn't know how many of those Americans who've "selected plans" through Obamacare's exchanges are paid up, and therefore actually covered. Health insurance industry expert Bob Laszewski has reported that non-payment rates could end up somewhere in the 10 to 30 percent range. That means that hundreds of thousands of the "enrollees" being touted by the Obama administration aren't fully enrolled. But for the sake of argument, let's play along with HHS' figures. They say they've signed up three million people as of late January. The law's open enrollment period ends after March 31st (barring yet another delay/extension). Team Obamacare projected that they'd enroll seven million Americans by then. According to their own numbers, they're less than halfway to that goal, with just over two months to go. There's a reason why Kathleen Sebelius is trying to pretend that seven million was never the target they were aiming for. They've also tried to back away from their demographic goals on the composition of risk pools. Their revisionism hasn't impressed or persuaded a top credit rating agency, which just downgraded health insurers due to the pernicious uncertainty and ominous enrollment statistics plaguing the law. Over at the liberal, goalpost-shifting WonkBlog, a writer (evidently rather hungry for any good news) excitedly declares California a success story in all of this. The Weekly Standard's John McCormack rains facts on this wishful parade:
"Wonkbook's Number of the Day: 424,936. That's how many people California enrolled in Obamacare policies between October 1 and December 31," wrote Klein and Soltas. "The goal for the reach [sic] by the end of March is between 487,000 and 696,000 -- and it now looks very much attainable." The WonkBlog report was a bit off: 424,936 is only the number of people who signed up by December 31 and qualified for subsidies. The total number of sign-ups, for both subsidized and unsubsidized plans, was about 500,000. Furthermore, it's inaccurate to call these people "enrollees" because Covered California has refused to say how many paid their first month's premium, which is required to actually be enrolled in a plan.
Those inaccuracies and, um, technicalities aside, the bigger problem with the California success narrative is that the state's enrollment figures are dwarfed by the the number of Californians whose plans were canceled because of Obamacare. As we're seeing across the country, the majority of "new" enrollees under Obamacare were previously insured. McCormack provides this chart that breaks down the numbers:
His conclusion, based on the data:
It's very likely that that fewer than 200,000 of California's 5.5 million uninsured residents (3.3. million of whom are eligible to enter the exchange) signed up for Obamacare by January 1. After spending $1 billion on developing and advertising the exchange in a blue state where views about the law are more favorable than the nation as a whole, is that really a success?
Obamacare supporters may answer that question in the affirmative. The problem for the White House is that there just aren't that many Obamacare supporters in general. A Fox News poll released on Friday showed the law slipping to a new approval low of (36/59). Obamacare is opposed by 64 percent of independents, 57 percent of women, and 59 percent of young voters. A majority of respondents said they expect the law to increase taxes, increase premiums and increase the deficit. Just over one-third said they expect Obamacare to increase their quality of care.
I predict a messier outcome.
Sally signs up for commiecare, say with Blue Cross, makes a few premium payments, then lapses...then gets diagnosed with cancer. Some HHS ‘navigator’ comes to a determination that Sally really was eligible for an additional subsidy (based on her DNC voter registration), and should have paid a lower premium...and said HHS Navigator tells Blue Cross they still have to cover her, as long as Sally pays the lapsed two months at a discounted rate, retro-actively. And of course Sally will pay no premiums going forward, as HHS will determine that any and all of her future illnesses are a result of the cancer, which was retro-actively covered.
Imagine this multiplied tens of thousands of times. As long as a ‘good democrat’ is ‘signed up’ for commiecare, they will be taken care of. If Blue Cross complains, they’ll get demonized in the media, investigated by DOJ, audited, the whole none yards. And in ten years....there will be no Blue Cross.
A pre-SOU statistic...
How convenient.
Enrolled? WHEN DO THEY PAY?
not buying any of it... this is all pretend spin.
Interesting.
Pass a law that says everybody has to buy healthcare, or else. Then, make a BFD of it when less than half the number of people required to make it ‘work’, sign up.
Yep, it’s time to celebrate! You’re doing a great job, Kathie!
And people had trouble with those paper applications too. Some never heard back from the “marketplace” after sending a paper app in, so they tried to enroll again through the call center and web site. Most likely lots of duplicates floating around and are part of that 3 million.
3 million fully subsidized medicade signers.
seigipoo heilidoo.
Check out the healthcare.gov website=enrollment. Maybe I just enrolled because I typed it.
According to the ignorant left, it’s signing into the webpage.
Medicaid
Why would I want to go on that webpage?
Only 27 million left to go. :-)
Maybe I worded that wrong... A hit to the website possibly counts as an enrollment...?
Yes thanks... I saw it after I hit the send but I was on my way out the door to an emergency call as I was posting.
I hope it was nothing to serious
Not really. It was a friend that needed help with an emergency communications link that is located in a TV station’s remote transmitter site. Rats had eaten through the feedline to the antennas and we had to change out the damaged wiring and some equipment that was damaged from the short. With the severe weather and ice predicted here, we needed to make certain that it was functioning because we may need it. It links Hospitals and Emergency Operations Centers (Civil Defense/Law enforcement) etc. Thanks for asking though!
LLS
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