ACA enrollment picks up steam
02/12/14 05:09 PM—Updated 02/12/14 05:32 PM
By Steve Benen
The Affordable Care Act enrollment numbers in December were so strong, there was no realistic way for January’s totals to match up. After all, December was the first month in which healthcare.gov was working effectively and the last month for consumers to enroll and have their coverage begin in January.
That said, while January wasn’t the ACA’s best month, it was its second-best month. :shock: :lol: :roll:
Obamacare had its second-best enrollment month in January, adding more than 1 million people to its rolls, much improved from the law’s rough opening months. The drop was expected after December’s key enrollment deadline, but didn’t slow the sign-ups as much as anticipated.
The 1.1 million enrollments as of Feb. 1 bring the law’s total to 3.3 million – still behind its projected totals ahead of the Oct. 1 launch, which had anticipated that many sign-ups by the end of December. But after the law signed up a fraction of its expected enrollees in October and November – before HealthCare.gov was declared fixed – it’s continued positive news for the law, administration officials said.
Perhaps the most striking detail in today’s report was the extent to which it exceeded expectations – as the Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff noted, January’s enrollment totals actually exceeded pre-launch projections.
What’s more, the number of young adults enrolling has also inched higher – from 24% to 27% – which is expected to help improve the overall system’s finances.
As for the politics, Sam Baker added, “With two months left to go, Obamacare enrollment is on track to hand the White House a significant win over the law’s critics.” It’s a boast grounded in fact.
To be sure, not all of the news related to the law’s implementation is encouraging for those hoping to see the law succeed. The fact that the employer mandate, for example, has now been delayed – twice – is a reminder that challenges remain.
But on balance, it’s hard to honestly deny the system has found its footing and is gaining strength after a rollout plagued with difficulties.
As we talked about a few weeks ago, this is difficult for the law’s detractors to admit out loud. Congressional Republicans haven’t been shy about their plans to devote the rest of the year to complaining obsessively about the Affordable Care Act, which they see as a winning electoral strategy – the party assumes the law is unpopular, unworkable, and an electoral albatross for Democrats nationwide. Republicans don’t need to govern, the argument goes, they just need to wait for “Obamacare” to implode.
But enrollment is going up, while the number of uninsured goes down. The number of states embracing Medicaid expansion is going up, while insurance-industry fears subside.
All the while, consumers who thought they’d hate “Obamacare” are slowly changing their minds.
The law’s detractors won’t want to hear this, but the imminent implosion of the Affordable Care Act has been cancelled.
What’s more, let’s not forget that this is less of a comeback story than a story of normalcy and effective governance. I realize there was a fair amount of panic in November – remember the pieces that predicted “Obamacare may destroy all of liberalism forever”? – but there were plenty of voices counseling patience. There were problems, but they were surmountable. There were elements that were broken, but they could be fixed.
The recent progress, in other words, isn’t some remarkable fluke the White House achieved through a Hail Mary pass. Rather, what we’re seeing now is progress many of us expected to see all along.
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Really :? no realistic way Jan. numbers could out do Dec. and gee Jan wasn't the best month but it was the second best. :roll: Just how hard was that since the first two months of the FOUR months were total disasters. :? And wouldn't you think they better figure out a realistic way of beating Dec's 1.8 million record. Since they need 4 million to meet their self set goal of 7.3 million by the end March. :roll: BTW I noticed they didn't tell their blog readers just how many of those enrollees have PAID FOR THEY INSURANCE.
As far as people likely Obamacare and it is a raging success From and article 4 days ago.
In addition, the latest polls on Obamacare continue to show that the majority of Americans are still opposed to the president’s signature health care law and people, in general, feel they are still uninformed about the legislation – even though they must sign up, by law, within the next couple of months. At least one network radio report said that 80 percent of those who have signed up for Obamacare are not paying into the system – and, obviously, people who pay for Obamacare are needed to make it work, financially. Since Obamacare is not going away anytime soon, the Democrats who embraced - often blindaly embraced - Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) will be penalized as the mid-term election polls as well.
From Jan 10 2014
Support for the Affordable Care Act has fallen to its lowest point in more than a year, according to a Gallup poll released on Friday.
The survey found that 54 percent disapprove of the healthcare law, against only 38 percent who approve.
The 16-point unfavorable spread is near an all-time high for ObamaCare, and a considerable difference from last month’s 10-point differential, when 51 percent said they disapproved of the law, against 41 who said they approved.
The last time ObamaCare had a positive approval rating coincided with President Obama’s reelection in November 2012, when 48 percent said they approved against 45 percent who said they disapproved.
In addition, 48 percent said they expect ObamaCare will make their lives worse, 35 percent said it would make no difference, and only 12 percent said it would make their lives better.
How do Senate Democrats like the bill THEY VOTED FOR
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama has told Senate Democrats that he's willing to stay away from election battles where his presence would not be helpful, a Democratic source said -- an apparent nod to his poll numbers.
Obama's comments came when he and former President Bill Clinton attended the Senate Democrats' issues conference at Nationals Park on Wednesday.
Sources at the meeting said Obama assured Democrats that maintaining control of the Senate is his top priority this year.
"I don't remember him (Obama) saying he wouldn't be offended if he wasn't invited (to help campaign), but he certainly acknowledged how low his numbers are in certain states," a source told CNN.
What are some of Obama poll ratings
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% of Likely U.S. Voters now give the president good or excellent marks for his handling of economic issues
For the second week in a row, 29% of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports
Sixty percent (60%) of voters believe most of the current problems with the health care law are unlikely to be fixed within the next year.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters share a favorable opinion of the health care law, while 53% view it unfavorably. This includes 18% with a Very Favorable opinion and 42% with a Very Unfavorable one
While voters have cited cost as their primary health care concern in surveys for years, 58% now expect the cost of health care to go up under the new law
Obama's poll ratings on health care are at 30% approval, and could that be because he said healthcare cost would go down and you could keep your policies if you liked your policies along with your Doctors.
Dems are on Fox all the time saying they are tired of defending Obamacare as it is a disaster and Obama is lying about the numbers to protect Dems during the upcoming election. Even Joe Trippie is saying the democrats are distancing themselves from Obama due to Obamacare and his poll rating due to his UNTRUSTWORTHYNESS. Does anyone truly believe that if Obamacare was good for the US and people liked it that Obama would be delaying the mandates and staying away from states where the Dems are fighting for their lived and control of the Senate. But over on MSNBC they are acting like nothing is wrong. Why can't some people see they are being lied to. :roll:
Oh and I thought Obama and Selbilus said they needed 40% of the enrollment to be the young health people but I guess that inching up to 27% will do just fine to offset the elderly and sicker enrollees :roll: