Finally: Nearly A Million Consumers Have Completed The Health Insurance Sign Up Process; 106,185 Have Selected Plans
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced enrollment numbers today for the federal and state online health insurance marketplaces that opened Oct. 1. Medicaid enrollment data were also released.
Read the HHS enrollment report here.
The Washington Post: Administration: 106,000 Enrolled In Health Insurance In First Month Of HealthCare.gov
The Obama administration reported Wednesday that slightly more than 106,000 people were able to enroll in new health-insurance plans during the first month of the troubled Internet marketplace under the new health-care law. ... The numbers represent a fraction of the half-million health-plan enrollees that the Obama administration had initially projected, before the HealthCare.gov Web site’s rocky rollout thwarted many shoppers’ attempts to sign up for insurance. Budget forecasters previously projected that 7 million people would enroll in coverage during the open enrollment period for the insurance exchanges, which runs until March 31 (Branigin and Somashekhar, 11/13).
The New York Times: Health Law Enrollment Figures Far Lower Than Initial Estimates
The White House has spent weeks trying to lower expectations about the enrollment figures, which have set off a pitched political battle among supporters and critics of the health overhaul, each seeking political advantage in the numbers. One point of contention is around the way the Obama administration defines who, precisely, is enrolled. The administration counts new enrollees as those who have "selected a marketplace plan" (Stolberg, 11/13).
Politico: October Obamacare Enrollment Low
One quarter of those people came through the flawed HealthCare.gov site, which is used by 36 states. The rest enrolled in the 14 states and Washington DC, that are running their own enrollment system, most of which are generally operating much more efficiently than the federal site. The figures, which fall well short of the administration’s early goals, include people who have selected a health plan, whether or not they have actually paid for it. The White House has been tamping down expectations for weeks, warning that they have always expected the first month of enrollment to be low, even before the problems with the website became clear (Cheney and Millman, 11/13).
USA Today: Only 26,794 People Bought Insurance Via HealthCare.gov
Despite the low numbers, Sebelius touted the overall level of interest in buying health insurance. "We expect enrollment will grow substantially throughout the next five months, mirroring the pattern that Massachusetts experienced," she said in a release before the official announcement of the enrollment figures. The states with their own exchanges outperformed those in the federal exchange: 3,736 signed up in Colorado; 4,418 in Connecticut; 5,586 in Kentucky; 16,404 in New York; and 7,091 in Washington (Kennedy, 11/13).
The Wall Street Journal: Obama Administration Gives First Month Health-Site Tallies
"There is no doubt the level of interest is strong. We expect enrollment will grow substantially throughout the next five months," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement on the release. "They're also numbers that will grow as the website, HealthCare.gov, continues to make steady improvements." ... The formal release of these numbers is likely to fuel further attacks by Republican critics who have sought to repeal the 2010 health law. The woes of the HealthCare.gov website, which prevented many people from creating accounts and enrolling in a health plan, have also put pressure on Democrats. President Barack Obama is looking for ways to bolster Democratic lawmakers up for re-election next year. The House is set to vote Friday on legislation that would allow insurers to continue selling current insurance policies that don't meet the standards of the new law. Many people among the 5% of Americans who buy coverage on the individual market have received cancellation notices in recent weeks (Radnofsky, 11/13).
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